


Vertigo

by hellafish



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: F/M, High School, IVE NEVER POSTED ON AO3 BEFORE, Isekai, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, Story Arc, Supernatural Elements, THIS STORY IS YIKES BUT goddamn i gotta try
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:35:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 55,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26043595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellafish/pseuds/hellafish
Summary: Orihara Izaya and Heiwajima Shizuo.Shizuo wasn’t bad by any means, but being in any sort of close proximity to him seemed likely to lead to ending up crushed under some kind of heavy object.And, well, Izaya was Izaya. Maybe potentially less dangerous in his high school years, but still, not someone to be trifled with.Best to avoid them both.(Orihara Izaya/Reader/Heiwajima Shizuo)
Relationships: Heiwajima Shizuo/Orihara Izaya/Reader, Heiwajima Shizuo/Reader, Kishitani Shinra/Celty Sturluson, Orihara Izaya/Reader
Comments: 212
Kudos: 195





	1. Entrance Ceremony

**Author's Note:**

> that's right it's an ISEKAI DURARARA!! FIC!!! in 2020! quarantine is hitting hard!
> 
> i'm not a very active fanfiction writer but no one else will write this so i will.
> 
> i plan for the fic to have two main arcs, one taking place during shizuo and izaya's highschool years and the other taking place 5 years later during the original durarara plot
> 
> due to the isekai nature of the fic, reader has an assigned name but if that bothers you i recommend a chrome extension called interactive fics!
> 
> also, i have yet to decide the final pairing, so voting over the course of the fic is encouraged!!
> 
> please enjoy!!

_ Have you ever… when you’re falling to sleep, peacefully drifting away, suddenly experienced extreme vertigo like you’re falling? It’s only ever brief, but you’re suddenly brought back to heightened consciousness? _

_ Typically this happens when you’re nodding off sitting up: on a bus or a train, you’re drowsy, drifting, and suddenly BAM! You’re up again. _

_ It’s usually a minor inconvenience at most, and you’re able to fall to sleep again right away. _

_ Well, this time, the feeling doesn’t go away. In fact, it’s prolonged for what seems like a whole minute. _

You slowly open your eyes and realize: you are indeed falling. At quite a high speed, actually.

It’s pitch black around you and you can’t even see your own body, but you can tell it’s definitely there judging by the velocity of the air around you as you fall through it.

You do what any sane person would do: scream at the top of your lungs. 

You’re shrieking, you’re shrieking, you’re shrieking until suddenly you’re crashing through a solid surface, you feel like you're staring directly into the sun, and falling what feels like 100 feet to the ground.

You feel… surprisingly unhurt. But it’s very very bright. 

Slowly turning your head to the right, you see what appears to be a… podium? And an elderly man looking down at you in shock. In a suit. _Is he a politician?_

There are lots of people behind him. You strain your neck and manage to look out to the left. You appear to be on a stage… and there are lots of people in the audience too. All looking at you.

… You turn your head back to look directly above you. It seems that you burst through the ceiling, judging by the giant hole and the planks of broken wood around you.

Looking up also means looking into the spotlights which are so very bright. 

Very very bright.

-

The next thing you know, you’re face to face with a bespectacled boy who’s peering very closely into your eyes.

You choke out a yelp and attempt to recoil until you realize you’re tucked very tightly in to a bed. You slowly sink back into the bed and eye the boy with suspicion.

“Oh, you’re awake!” He exclaims in a chipper voice. “That didn’t take too long.”

In your panic, you scan the room. You can see that you must be in some kind of nurse’s office. The walls are lined with cabinets filled with medical supplies, there’s a small desk in the corner, and there’s only one bed in the room and you’re in it. 

You focus back on the boy. He’s got shaggy dark hair that goes just past his ears, and a kind of dorky pair of glasses sitting atop his nose. He’s also in what looks like to be a school uniform with a loosened tie, and he’s smiling at you brightly. He doesn't seem to be a threat... he just has no sense of personal space.

“…Where am I?” You manage.

“You’re in the Nurse’s Office!” Glasses Boy responds. “After you fell like 100 feet from the auditorium ceiling during the entrance ceremony, the teachers and I took you to lie down until the ambulance gets here. But…” 

He adjusts his glasses and looks you up and down with an eye that’s much too close for your taste.

“You’re remarkably unharmed for someone who fell 100 feet onto her back! Your spine should be shattered, or even worse! It’s very surprising you aren’t even crippled in some way!”

Ignoring his chipper delivery of potential terrible outcomes, you attempt sitting up, and notice he’s right. The only pain you feel is dull and on your tailbone, like you fell badly on your ass. But like 3 days ago. Besides that, you feel completely normal despite your utter confusion at why you fell in the first place and where you actually are. Entrance ceremony? Teachers?

Glasses Boy takes your silence to be confusion and continues talking. “I took the liberty of grabbing your things that fell for you-“ he reaches under his chair and hands you a schoolbag. “Here’s your bag, Otsuka-san!”

_Otsuka-san?_ Looking down at what is apparently your bag, it certainly has “Otsuka Chie” written on the strap in sharpie. Inside the bag, you find a few schoolbooks, as well as what looks to be a wallet. You flip it open and look at the student ID on the inside. 

“I didn’t steal anything,” Glasses Boy says, sounding mock offended. “You don’t have to check!”

The picture is of a 16 year old girl, born on the 26th of June, which is surprisingly… also your birthday. But that girl is also definitely not you. 

She has thick, dark eyebrows, and has ears that you can’t help but think resemble a monkey’s. Her name is Otsuka Chie, and she is currently a second year at… _Raijin Academy?_

“Raijin Academy?!” You exclaim out loud and look at Glasses Boy in panic. Wait, this can’t be real. 

No way. 

If memory serves you right, Raijin Academy was the name of the fictional high school in the Durarara!! series, before merging with a nearby high school to become Raira Academy in modern day. And if memory continues to serve… you slowly look up at Glasses Boy. That boy is Kishitani Shinra, a character from that same series. 

Hold on, back up, back up.

_This was straight out of an isekai manga._ You had entertained what it would be like to be reborn in another world, sure, but typically the “other worlds” from isekai manga were fantastical and magical… Durarara!! certainly had it’s share of the supernatural, but offered a much darker and dangerous plotline. At this rate, you could very easily end up wrapped in some gang violence or on someone’s hit list.

Didn't someone say at one point that Raira had a dark history...? 

You rubbed your temples. Durarara!! also finished quite a while ago now. It didn’t have an active fandom, and while it was certainly an anime classic, it was easily forgotten under all the brand new series that had come out in the past 5 years. 

You were beginning to feel like you ended up in the discount isekai manga. 

Wait. If you were at Raijin Academy… And Shinra was here…

That meant there were two other people here that could very well spell real trouble for you. 

_ Orihara Izaya and Heiwajima Shizuo. _

Shizuo wasn’t bad by any means, but being in any sort of close proximity to him seemed likely to lead to ending up crushed under some kind of heavy object.

And, well, Izaya was Izaya. Maybe potentially less dangerous in his high school years, but still, not someone to be trifled with. 

_Best to avoid them both._

You look back at Shinra, who is looking at you curiously. If you remembered right, Shinra had medical experience and significant experience with the supernatural due to living with Celty for almost his whole life. Even though you weren’t really sure what you would label the phenomenon of being teleported into another world, if there was anybody in this whole series that could help you out, it would be Shinra. But how to bring it up? Without sounding totally insane?

“Um, y-“ You begin, but you’re cut off by the office door sliding open loudly.

Lo and behold, _the devil himself._

Orihara Izaya was standing in the doorway with a sly smirk on his face. You still don’t quite understand why he wears a different uniform from everyone else despite attending the same school, but you quietly admit to yourself that he _is_ handsome.

“Oh, she’s already up?” Izaya remarks, closing the door behind him and approaching your bedside.

Okay, now is _not_ the time to be admiring his good looks. You’re kind of in deep shit if Izaya has already noticed you, and to be honest, how could he not? With the less than graceful entrance you made during the entrance ceremony, you're probably already the talk of the school. You’re also remarkably unharmed, and he’s most likely already noticed that. You’d rather not be used as a rag doll or guinea pig by Orihara Izaya.

Ok, ok, think. In your limited memory of the series, Izaya loves… humans and interesting things.

You feel like you’re looking at smudged notes on your hand.

If your memory serves, the best route would probably be to try to be as normal as possible… and potentially as dumb as possible. 

You look up at Izaya with your best no thoughts head empty expression, to which Izaya responds with a friendly smile.

“Don’t be fooled by this guy, Otsuka-san.” Shinra pipes up. “I’ve known him since middle school and he’s quite the asshole! What are you doing here, anyway?” 

Izaya’s friendly smile turns into a sharp smirk. “That’s not very nice, Shinra. Can’t a friend just check up on a friend?”

“I’m only telling the truth, you know!”

Bad news, Izaya turns his attention back to you. “Otsuka Chie, right? That was quite an entrance you made.”

Ugh. Exactly as you expected, he wants to talk to you because of your spectacular fall earlier. 

“H-huh? What are you talking about…?” You reply hesitantly. 

_ Shit.  _

You’re not an actor, and it shows. Izaya looks like he’s about to burst out laughing and you’re quickly trying to think up another strategy when the office door slides open again.

Oh god, please don’t let it be Shizuo.

You almost close your eyes in anticipation when you notice the person is wearing a skirt far too short to be Shizuo. Unless you’re remembering the show wrong.

“Boys, stop crowding Otsuka-san! Shouldn’t you be in class?” The woman (who you assume is the nurse) declares in a shrill voice, and rushes over to your bedside, shooing Shinra and Izaya away. “The ambulance is here- you’re awake?” She looks at you in shock.

You don’t know what to say and you nod slowly. Out of the corner of your eye, Izaya is still watching you closely.

There’s a beat of silence until the nurse speaks again.

“Ok; well, we need to get you to the hospital. And what are you boys still doing here?! Back to class!” 

“Yes, ma’am…” Shinra says and pulls Izaya along with him. “Hope you feel better, Otsuka-san!”

You lock eyes with Izaya before the door slams shut. You didn’t think it was possible for one person to fail a vibe check so hard.

-

During your check-up, the doctors are as shocked as everyone else at your lack of injury. You feel like they give you more x-rays than actually necessary, and you’re asked over and over how you fell so far in the first place. You answer honestly: you have no idea.

After about 4 hours and check-ups from 3 different doctors, they give you a ride home. And you’re thankful, because otherwise you’d have no idea how to get home. Your address is on your student ID.

It looks like your house is pretty close to school, in one of the narrow residential districts of Ikebukuro. The yard is gated from the street, and has a short walkway that leads to the narrow but long two story house.

Like you anticipated, your family are complete strangers, but they seem mostly normal. 

Your mother is overbearing with a strong personality, and she almost gives you whiplash when she embraces you in a tight hug when you get home before immediately slapping you upside the head for doing something so stupid like falling in the middle of the auditorium. 

Your father has a weaker personality, merely fondly watching you and your mother from the dining table behind the newspaper. Over dinner, you learn that your family lived in Niigata until 2 months ago when your father was transferred to another branch of the credit card company he works at. 

You have a younger brother, too, but it seems like he doesn’t talk much. Kanji is only a year younger than you, but is currently in a rebellious stage that involves not saying thank you for the food before eating it, getting into an argument with your mom, and storming to his room without dessert. 

After your bath, you ask your dad if you can use the family computer, to which he asks if you’ve been assigned homework already. You don’t want to tell your dad that you have to look up directions to school, so you go along with it. You marvel at how far technology has come in the past 15 years and log on.

You’re watching the MapQuest directions print out when you sense someone behind you, making you jump.

It’s Kanji and he’s giving you a weird look. You hastily grab the paper and hold it tight to your chest.

“W-what’s up, Kanji?” You squeak. He takes a bite of his granola bar (admitting defeat so early, Kanji? A true rebel refuses to eat until the next day after running out during dinner) and mumbles with his mouth full.

“…hat’s tha?”

You look down at the paper that you’re holding tightly in your fists around your chest. “Oh- nothing! Just directions to school… Mom asked for them after the incident today, you know how overbearing she is…” you laugh nervously and hope that he buys it, especially since you tried to get on his good side by appealing to his interests: parents suck and kids are cool!

He stares at you a moment longer before shoving past you. “Whatever,” Kanji grumbles. “I wanna get on the computer.” 

This… seems like a pass?

“Yeah, no problem…” You watch Kanji for a second longer before returning to your room. You wonder if he isn’t handling the move well or if it’s just a product of teenage hormones.

You look at the room filled with memories that aren’t yours and hope that tomorrow you wake up at home.

-

No such luck. The next day, you wake up in the same bed to your mom banging on your door telling you to come downstairs for breakfast.

Your dad mentions that you usually ride your bike to school, but on your way out, you notice that there is no bike to be found.

As you get closer to school, you join the crowd of fellow Raijin students who are also migrating to school. They’re obvious with their staring, and you are clearly currently a hot topic.

“I heard it was a publicity stunt by the school…!”

“That’s Otsuba… I’ve heard she’s actually a ninja!”

“She fell so far… how does she not have a single bruise on her?”

You try to block them out and continue the walk to school. It’s only about a 15 minute walk from your house, so you think it’s not really a problem that you didn’t have a bike.

As you enter the school gates, however, you notice one green bike that looks kind of rusty and has some leaves between the tires at the end of the bike rack. Out of curiosity, you try the key on your keyring… and the lock pops open. Theoretically, Chie should have ridden her bike to school yesterday. So why was her bike so unkempt?

-

“Pardon the intrusion…” You enter the faculty office, and all eyes are on you. You would say you would expect better from adults, but you know better than that. They're acting just like your fellow students.

“Otsuka, right? Thanks for coming by before class. I’m Shishio.” A young man, who you can only assume is your homeroom teacher, beckons you over to his desk. “You didn’t miss much since yesterday was just the first day… are you sure you’re okay to be in class today?” He gives you a doubtful look.

“Yes, I got permission from the hospital!” You move to pull the doctor’s note from your bag but your teacher speaks again before you can.

“Ok, then. Here are a couple handouts to help me get to know you better and your needs- just make sure you get them to me before the end of the day, okay?” Before you can even put the handouts in your bag, Shishio is already standing up and exiting the office. “Let’s go ahead and get you introduced to the rest of your classmates, kay? I’m pretty sure everyone knows who you are by now, though.”

You haphazardly shove the handouts in your bag and trail after Shishio on the way to class. Looks like you’re in 2-B, and it sounds pretty rowdy in there.

Shisho slides the door open with confidence and you follow him into the classroom. “Alright, everyone. Settle down, we’ve got one final classmate to introduce before we get started.” Either because Shishio started shouting over the noise or because you entered the room, everyone goes quiet and all eyes are on you.

You briefly scan over the classroom and recognize Shinra in a seat towards the back- and whoops. That bleached blond hair and scowl could only belong to one guy.

Heiwajima Shizuo.

Shizuo is eyeing you, and while at first you think it’s just his permanent expression, you realize it’s because you were supposed to introduce yourself and Shishio is waiting for you to speak.

You scramble for something to say and end up with a bow and an oddly strained, “Nice to meet you all, I’m Otsuka Chie!”

You hear the class murmuring and you return to a standing position to see them whispering amongst themselves. God, teenagers are so rude.

Shishio chuckles a bit to himself and looks at the seating chart. “Alright, then… Looks like there’s a spot for you behind Kishitani. He’s the one in the glasses with the bad haircut.”

"That's not very nice, sensei!" Shinra cries.

The tension in the room is diffused by Shishio’s joke, but it stays tightly with you as you approach your seat. Kishitani wasn’t the problem. The problem was that directly to the left of your seat was Shizuo.

You sit and take a deep breath. Well, this isn't a huge problem. Shizuo is generally a good guy, and as long as Izaya isn’t around, you shouldn’t run into too many problems. Plus, you never heard of him hitting a girl.

If you remember right, Shizuo had very few friends due to most people being scared of him and his strength. He was quite the lonely guy.

There was probably no harm in Shizuo making another friend, right?

“Hello,” you greeted Shizuo. “I’m Otsuka Chie, nice to meet you!” You tried to seem as non threatening as possible, as if Shizuo was a threatened animal that could easily kill you at any moment.

Shizuo shot you a short look and nodded before looking back out the window. “Yeah.”

You tried again. “What’s your name?”

He looked back at you with an indiscernible look on his face, like he couldn’t figure out why this interaction was still going on. “… Heiwajima Shizuo.”

You smile at Shizuo, and you think he almost might smile back until Shinra has to open his big fat mouth. “Don’t worry about his attitude too much, Otsuka-san. Shizuo here just doesn’t know how to talk to girls!”

What might have been the faintest sign of a positive expression on Shizuo’s face is quickly turned into a frown, and he slams a fist on his desk. “Shut up!” He growls, and you jump a little. Shizuo notices, and appears to ease up a little. The air goes awkward.

Quick, you think. This can still be saved!

You decide just to laugh, and Shinra and Shizuo look at you like you’re a little crazy. They have zero right to judge you.

This isn’t the worst situation in the world. If Shizuo is on your side, it’s very unlikely that anybody will mess with you, and it’ll be easier to get closer to him if he’s next to you every day.

“Is everybody here?” Shishio called. You mentally note to continue this interaction later and turn to face the front.

“Looks like one person still isn’t here…” You look to your right and notice that one desk is still empty. You’d judge them for missing their second day, but you missed your first, so you should probably keep your mouth shut.

“Alright, let’s get started…” Shishio turns to start writing on the board when the back door to the classroom slides open. You look up and your heart drops.

“Sorry I’m late,” Izaya drawls. “My bike broke down.”

You think you hear some girls squeal through your fear-stricken state and distantly wonder why that is something worth squealing over.

“Late on the second day, Orihara? Alright, get to your seat already.” Shishio turns back to the board, and you feel the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up. You slowly turn to peek at Shizuo, and begin to calculate the fastest route to get out of the way of a desk, a chair, or possibly even the lockers in the back of the room.

But to your surprise, Shizuo isn’t even looking at Izaya. He’s taking out his books and getting ready to follow along with Shishio’s lesson. You peek back at Izaya, who has just taken out a notebook. He notices your gaze and shoots you a smile. “Hi again, Chie-chan.”

You nod shakily and fumble to get your books out of your bag while Izaya watches you and smirks with a knowing look. Fucking prick.

That was close…!

It looks like, against all odds, Shizuo and Izaya haven’t met yet.

You’re a little confused since it’s the second year and it’s unlikely they wouldn’t have run into each other at school, but you’ll take whatever you can get.

As the lesson starts, you swear you can hear Shizuo mumble: “… something stinks.”

—

The school day continues to be surprisingly peaceful. You can’t help but be incredibly on edge and feel yourself trembling just holding your pencil, which you drop a few times trying to take notes. Izaya tries to pick it up a few times to hand back to you but by GOD you will not let him.

Classes pass by pretty quickly, considering it’s only the second day. When lunchtime arrives, lucky, a couple girls in the class ask you to have lunch with them and you join them at their desks.

On your way over, you notice Shinra following Shizuo out of the classroom and Izaya talking to a few boys at the front of the classroom. You keep your head down and try to enjoy your lunch (which isn’t very hard to do, your mom is a much better cook than your mom from your world)

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re not hurt, Otsuka-san!” says Kuchiki, a girl with light brown hair in a loose bun. “That could have ended really badly…”

“Yeah…” you sigh and chuckle nervously. “It’s so weird, I have no memory of falling, so hearing about it from everyone feels kinda strange…”

You’ve decided the memory loss route is probably the best strategy. Considering you have no idea what happened anyway, you’re not totally lying.

“It’s a little scary, though!” You turn and look at Takeda, the blonde girl with pigtails who just spoke. “…What if you got, like… attacked…?”

Kuchiki gasps and smacks Takeda’s arm.

“Why would you say that?!” Takeda yelps and grabs her arm where Kuchiki smacked her, although you doubt it could have hurt that much. “It’s possible!! I mean, you know Heiwajima threw Sawada-kun from 2-D through the gymnasium wall last year!”

She gasps and covers her mouth, but after looking around to see that Shizuo isn’t in the class room, she settles.

Wait, what? Shizuo, why?

Kuchiki gives Takeda a deadpan look. “If you remember, Heiwajima was sitting just 2 rows in front of us. I don’t think he has ESP or whatever.”

Takeda looks to be thinking deeply. “Oh, yeah…”

You look between the two of them. You feel badly for Shizuo, but you can’t deny that throwing a guy through the gymnasium wall is pretty scary. Sawada or whoever must have pissed him off, but the reason why fell on a spectrum of “said something vaguely irritating” to “manipulated thousands to attack Shizuo on a regular basis.”

Hm.

“I am glad Orihara-kun is in our class, though…”

Huh?

You look up at Takeda. You heard her wrong… for sure.

“He’s just so dreamy!” Takeda whisper-squeals and rests her head in her hands with the look of a maiden-in-love. “Last year, he remembered my name and held the door to the storage room for me…”

You turn to look at Izaya, who’s leaving the classroom with the boys you saw him with earlier. Sure, you’ve already shamefully admitted to yourself that he’s regretfully handsome, but dreamy is not the word you would use to describe him. He’s all sharp edges and just clearly emits villain vibes.

Kuchiki heaves a long-suffering sigh and finishes her bento. “Takeda, if you don’t think Orihara is bad news, you need to get your wires checked.”

Takeda huffs and indignantly bites into a croquette.

Okay, at least someone was talking sense around here. You nod maybe a little too enthusiastically for someone who just “met” the guy yesterday to agree with Kuchiki.

“Maybe I like a bad boy!” Takeda pouts. “A little danger in my life!”

“Takeda, you already go to school with the strongest and maybe angriest kid in Ikebukuro. I think you’ve got enough.” Kuchiki replies. You realize that you should probably be a little more confused about who Izaya and Shizuo are.

“Um, what’s up with Heiwajima and Orihara…?” you attempt.

Takeda and Kuchiki gasp together, which is kind of jarring to be honest.

“That’s right, I forgot you’re a transfer!” Takeda muses. “You wouldn’t know those two…”

“They’re kind of infamous at Raijin Academy,” Kuchiki says. “Orihara is a troublemaker and Heiwajima is a monstrously strong delinquent.” She gives you a pitying look. “You’re unlucky to be stuck between them, but we’re all unlucky to have them in the same class… double the trouble.”

Double the trouble is right.

-

After school, you wave goodbye to Kuchiki and Takeda and make a beeline for the door. If Izaya and Shizuo haven’t met yet, maybe you can prevent them from meeting at all in true isekai fashion. It’s a good idea that’s easier said than done: Izaya and Shizuo are not easily wrangled and it’s unlikely that either of them would listen to you.

Still deep in thought, you’re walking down the stairs from the second floor when a chipper voice breaks you out of your thoughts.

“Wow, looks like you’re experiencing zero residual physical trauma… your joints are handling your full body weight perfectly!” Shinra joins you at your side, his eyes sparkling. “That’s truly remarkable!! Are you a superhuman or something??”

If you had actually met Shinra for the first time yesterday, you would think he was joking. But knowing Shinra, he was legitimately questioning your humanity.

You chuckle awkwardly and slow down to match his pace. “Hi, Kishitani…”

“And you say you have truly no memory of the event…” He gasps. “Don’t tell me… are you an alien?! Falling down to earth like a meteorite?!”

Well, you might as well be an alien, considering you’re most likely from an entirely different universe.

“Not that I know of,” you reply then notice Shizou's absence. “Where’s Heiwajima? I thought you two were glued together.”

“Oh, you noticed?” Shinra grins. “Shizuo and I are old friends… I think he’s going through a rebellious stage. He never comes over for check-ups anymore, and he’d rather spend time with my dear Celty instead of me!” He holds his fist high and dramatically looks to the sky. “I’ll never let go of her!”

You know that you should probably be confused about who Celty is, but you have no desire to send Shinra into a tangent. This is probably a good opportunity to try and prod Shinra for information about interdimensional travel.

“Speaking of alien-“

**CLAAANG.**

You’re cut off by what you think is a large soccer goal flying through the air and crashing to the ground 3 feet in front of you. You shriek in surprise and stumble backwards, but Shinra is only mildly bothered. Several students scream and dash to leave school premises, and as you recover, you realize the goal must have come from the soccer field to your right.

“Oh, there’s Shizuo!” Shinra grins. “C’mon, you should check this out!” Without waiting for your response, Shinra grabs you by the arm and drags you towards the soccer field.

“Hey- wait!” You yelp, but Shinra is surprisingly fast and you have to keep moving just to not faceplant.

As you come around the fence surrounding the soccer field, you see Shizuo standing alone in what looks to be a field of beat-up delinquents. His uniform blazer is missing, and he’s got a fair share of scratches and bruises covering his body. Shizuo is breathing heavily and kicks one of the delinquents to the side to pick up his blazer.

You’re a little troubled that you find beat-up Shizuo as hot as you do… wait, this scene looks scarily familiar.

You hear someone start clapping to your left and your head turns so fast you swear it snaps. Uh oh.

Izaya is sitting nearby, comically applauding Shizuo with a shit-eating grin on his face.

You know this scene.

This is Izaya and Shizuo’s first meeting.

Why, oh, WHY did Shinra have to drag you along with him?!

Shizuo slowly turns around and glares at Izaya with a scowl.

“This is Orihara Izaya,” Shinra informs. “He went to our middle school and he’s from our class: Otsuka sits between the two of you!”

You wonder if Shinra is intentionally rubbing it in. You also wonder if he’s giving Shizuo so much information because he wants to give Izaya a proper introduction or if Shizuo actually doesn’t notice anyone around him.

You see Shizuo’s eyes narrow and you immediately know he does not like Izaya and there’s nothing you can do about it. You’re taking baby steps back now. Maybe you can just disappear and they’ll all be none the wiser.

“He’s not a good guy…” Shinra continues. “Well, actually, he’s kind of an asshole.”

Does Shinra warn everybody about Izaya’s asshole tendencies? Pretty nice of him, actually.

Izaya responds in mock offense and sighs with a smile on his face. “That’s mean, Shinra.”

“No, no! I didn’t mean it in a negative way.” Shinra grins. You don’t quite understand their relationship.

“You piss me off.” Shizuo bluntly declares.

Shinra looks back at Shizuo with shock written all over his face. What did you expect was going to happen, Shinra?! Their personalities don’t exactly scream compatible!

“Oh, yeah?” Izaya replies in a mocking voice. “That’s too bad…” he sighs dramatically and leans back. “I really thought the two of us could have some fun together…”

This is excruciating to watch.

“Shut up.” Shizuo turns away.

“Don’t be like that, Shizuo-kun…”

This is it! You preemptively step back and shield your face with your bag. You’re not sure why, it just seems like the appropriate response.

You hear a roar of rage, fast footsteps, Izaya chuckling, and the sound of crunching metal. You peek out from behind your bag and just catch Izaya slashing Shizuo across the chest with his pocket knife. Shizuo growls and leaps back, a hand on his chest.

“See?” Izaya taunts. “Isn’t this fun?”

You look at Shinra for any kind of support but he’s just smiling at the two of them fondly. Shinra, please!

Shizuo roars with incoherent rage and charges Izaya, who turns tail and leaps over the fence surrounding the soccer field. Shizuo does the same, and watching the two of them run off into the city is almost comical. Almost. You feel badly for anyone who gets in their path.

You and Shinra turn to look at each other.

“Well, I think that went well!”

-

You bid farewell to Shinra at the train station and continue your trek home. Well, there goes your idea of keeping the two from having a formal meeting. You sigh and suppose the idea was impossible to begin with: they’re in the same class, after all. Izaya was bound to piss Shizuo off at some point. Maybe you could ask Shishio to transfer you to another class for your own safety.

On the bright side, Ikebukuro is a pretty cool place to be. Looking around as you walk home, there are a lot of shops you’re going to want to check out on your weekends: maybe Takeda and Kuchiki would be willing to join you!

Your eye is particularly caught by a dango shop and you suppose that April ’tis the season. You stop and stare at the shop for a second before making up your mind. You walk up to the outdoor take-out counter and catch eyes with the old man running the shop.

“Hi! Can I have two hanami* dango please?” You place 400 yen on the counter and feel a little guilty for using money that isn’t technically yours.

“Sure thing, miss!” The old man takes your money and turns back into the shop to prepare your dango.

You don’t know what relationship Chie and Kanji had before yesterday, but figure that there’s no harm in trying to get along with your baby brother. They also say food heals all wounds… or maybe that’s just your opinion.

The old man returns with your dango and is about to place them in your hands when you hear a loud BANG from down the street followed by screams and gasps. Don’t tell me…

You turn quickly to see Shizuo hit the ground, hard, apparently having been hit by a gigantic truck. 

You grab your dango and quickly thank the now very confused old man before hurrying to a nearby side alley. You don’t really want to get involved in Izaya and Shizuo’s bullshit, but you can’t help but admit that it’s pretty fucking wild to see their absolutely insane fights in person.

The truck driver hops out and runs to check on Shizuo, clearly distressed. “Are.. Are you okay?!”

“Don’t worry about it,” a smarmy voice calls. “He’s built tough.” You strain your neck to peek a little further and see Izaya pulling out his wallet and handing the truck driver a few bills. Wow, that sure took some coordination on Izaya’s part. You notice that he’s been a little roughed up as well and feel relieved that Shizuo managed to land a few hits on him.

Izaya sends Shizuo one last cocky grin before disappearing into the city, and you lean flat against the wall of the alley, carefully balancing your dango, to avoid him seeing you. Luckily, he passes by none the wiser, and you slip out to check on Shizuo.

Shizuo is lying flat on his back, staring at the sky, clearly still reeling from the impact of the truck. If only he knew what kind of hell Izaya was going to rain down on him in the later years of his life.

You can’t help but feel bad for him, and you get a little closer.

The two of you make eye contact, and you think you see the faintest sign of recognition in Shizuo’s eyes as he stares up at you.

“…What are you doing here?” He grunts out.

You gulp. Ok, you can do this! The truck seems to have broken his rage temporarily!

“Uh… I saw you get hit by that truck,” you manage. “I was wondering if you were okay.”

Shizuo stares at you blankly. Either the truck hit him harder than you thought or he doesn’t remember who you are.

“… I’m Otsuka Chie from your class…?” you provide.

He stares at you for a moment longer before sighing and slowly sitting himself up. “Yeah, I know.”

Shizuo stands with minor difficulty and brushes his pants off. “What do you want?”

Wow, leave it to Shizuo to act nonchalant after being hit by an 18 wheeler.

“Uh… I was concerned. Because you were hit… by a truck…?” you speak as if to jog his memory, like the truck knocked his wits out of him.

You think if this was 5 years later, Shizuo would have lit up a cigarette by now. But it’s not, and instead he considers what you said for a moment longer.

“… Thanks, I guess.”

That’s a pretty good response when it comes to Shizuo! You’re so caught up in your relief when you notice Shizuo is already starting to walk away.

“Oh- uh!” you exclaim. “Uh, you…”

Shizuo stops and looks back at you with the oh so familiar face of “why is Chie still talking to me?”

“You…” You search for something to say. What were you going to say?! “You should… get checked out!”

“…Huh?” Shizuo grunts.

What are you saying?!

“You got hit by a truck… you should make sure your body is okay. And stuff. Also, you should take this.” You practically shove one of the dango into his hands, and he looks at you and the dango incredulously.

“It’s a dango.” you provide.

“Wh- I know that,” Shizuo says. “What am I supposed to do with this-“

“Eat it...?”

Shizuo stares at you. He sure is doing a lot of that.

“Well, uh,” You sputter and decide it’s about time to end this interaction. “See you in class!” You wave awkwardly and turn to go home, mentally cursing yourself. You sounded so stupid! But at least you were nice to him and gave him a dango. Hopefully when you ultimately pissed Shizuo off, he would hesitate when he remembered the tasty dango you gave him.

Shizuo just watched you go before looking at the dango.

“… Maybe I should get Shinra to check me out.”

—

After finishing another delicious dinner made by your mom and observing another Kanji vs everyone at the dinner table showdown, you’re sitting down to check out some of Chie’s belongings when you realize something kind of terrible.

Shizuo runs into Izaya at Shinra’s apartment, doesn’t he?

-

The next day, you walk to school in with low spirits. You brought what is supposedly your bike home from school yesterday, but it needs some serious clean-up if you’re going to be able to use it.

You looked through a good bit of Chie’s stuff, but you weren’t able to find anything helpful before your mom told you it was time to turn out the lights and go to bed.

Chie really did just seem like a normal 16 year old girl: you had briefly entertained the idea she was involved in witchcraft and pulled some sort of crazy switcheroo between worlds. Or universes, you hadn’t quite made the distinction yet.

It looked like Chie enjoyed a variety of hobbies: she was on the volleyball team in middle school, enjoyed scrapbooking, and had a healthy interest in fortune telling and personality types if all the tarot cards and star charts were any indication. The interest in fortune telling was what initially made you think she was a witch, but upon closer inspection, it all boiled down to very vague predictions that could apply to just about any situation.

Well, wherever the real Chie was, you hoped for her sake that she had it better off than you did. You had half a mind to cross yourself and pray before entering the classroom this morning.

When you finally entered the classroom, you noticed that Shinra and Shizuo were already there. It was kind of funny to imagine that someone, like Shizuo, who gave off the appearance of such a delinquent was on time to school every day and took notes like a good boy.

Time to face the music.

You already had extensively planned some escape routes in case of emergency after dinner… and before bed… and on the way to school this morning.

“…Good morning, Kishitani, Heiwajima!” You greet them brightly and slide into your desk.

“Morning, Otsuka!” Shinra grins and waves, turning to face you in his seat.

Shizuo and you make eye contact, and you try to give him a friendly smile. You also try not to think about how you probably look just a little crazy.

“… Morning.”

You blink. Did he…

You and Shinra turn to look at each other.

The dango worked, after all!

Well, the dango was probably part of it. The fact that you saw him beat up a field’s worth of delinquents and go feral over Izaya and you still checked on him after he got hit by a truck and treated him like he was a normal person… was most likely the main cause for his change in attitude.

But mostly the dango.

“You know, Otsuka, your recovery is truly amazing…” Oh no. Not this again. “Maybe you would be interested in letting me give you a check-up?” Shinra grins at you expectantly.

“Wh- I already got a check-up at the hospital, though…” you reply politely. “I think I’m-“

Shinra cuts you off excitedly. “I do tons of things the doctors at the hospitals can’t do (legally), though! You could find out all kinds of crazy things about your body…”

Did you hear him say legally?

“Shinra. Quit it, already.” Shizuo mutters.

Shizuo! Jumping to your defense…

“Hm? What was that, Shizuo?” Shinra gives him an unassuming smile. You’d think he took secret pleasure in provoking Shizuo… but it was more likely Shinra was just inherently a little annoying.

“Leave Otsuka the hell alone!” Shizuo slams his hand on his desk. You eyed the desk warily. That thing was definitely going to give way before the end of the semester.

You give Shizuo what you hope is a placating smile. “No, it’s…”

“Oh, my, Shizu-chan. Getting so possessive over our Chie-chan already? It’s only the third day!”

… Why did he always have to show up like this? You didn’t even want to look at him. Why would he even come to class after yesterday?

Shizuo stands up aggressively, slamming his desk into the empty one in front. “You son of a bitch…” he growls.

“No need to be embarrassed, Shizu-chan! You’re already 16, we all know girls don’t have cooties anymore!”

God, now you wanted to punch him. You, regrettably, turn to look at him. Izaya has a small bandage on his head and you imagine Shizuo threw the door of Shinra’s apartment at his head which cheers you up a little bit.

You were about to turn to face Shizuo when you feel a gust of air blow your hair into your face and hear a loud bang and several screams.

You wildly over-estimated the life expectancy of Shizuo’s desk. Looks like it didn’t even make it past day three. Izaya was standing to the side, smiling widely.

“Wow, is that how you greet a friend?”

“I’ll fucking KILL you!” Shizuo grabs his chair and hurls it over his head at Izaya, who just laughs a little maniacally and steps to the side once more before running for the door.

“I-ZA-YA!!” Shizuo follows in pursuit, and you hear them wreaking havoc all the way down the hall. You almost expect to catch a cat screech at the end.

Well, at least they were both out of class now. Maybe if you were lucky, they’d just chase each other for most of class time. You turn around and begin unloading your textbooks onto your desk.

“Otsuka…” you look up at Shinra, who seems to be looking at you in some sort of admiration. Uh oh. Should you have acted more shocked and dismayed at Izaya and Shizuo’s behavior?

“…what?”

“You’re pretty cool, huh?”

Never mind, this was Shinra you were dealing with.


	2. Sports Festival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic is a cheese au, in which the only difference is that ikebukuro operates under a cheese based caste system
> 
> anyway, welcome to the sports festival mini-arc!

In a not too shocking turn of events, school faculty quickly figure out that Shizuo + Izaya = _extreme chaos,_ and transfer Izaya to another class. You are immensely relieved, and so is the rest of the class. 

You overhear that Izaya doesn’t attend class too frequently anyway, the rebel he is, and you suspect he only comes to school to patronize and terrorize your fellow students (particularly Shizuo).

Without Izaya in your class, things fall into an easy routine: easier than you would expect, in fact. 

What you don’t expect is Takeda and Kuchiki not becoming your closest friends in the class: there’s no bad blood, but somehow you’ve ended up in the weird little clique of you, Shinra, and Shizuo. 

You think it’s quite an odd clique and so does the rest of your class; the strongest boy in Ikebukuro, a freaky lovesick boy surgeon, and the girl who fell 100 feet during the entrance ceremony. But if you think about it, you guess it makes sense.

It began a couple days after you gave Shizuo your dango, which you still think is the main reason Shizuo tolerates you. Takeda and Kuchiki were visited by a few of their friends from another class, who you think went to the same middle school as them. The energy of the group was a little intimidating to approach, so you were about to (sadly) eat your lunch at your desk when Shizuo called your name.

“Otsuka.” 

Holy shit; disaster almost struck. You almost dropped your lunchbox on the floor in shock, and that would have made for an even more depressing lunch period.You looked up to see Shizuo looking down at you, carrying his lunchbox under his arm. This was rare, Shizuo almost never greeted you first.

“You eating alone?”

“Uh… Yeah.” You responded, feeling oddly embarrassed at your current state. It wasn’t like Shizuo was the most popular guy, anyway, he had no place to judge you.

“… Wanna eat with Shinra and I? We typically eat on the roof.” 

If this was an anime, you thought your eyes would have glimmered. You stared at Shizuo, still reeling a bit that he had asked you to join him for lunch. Your staring just made Shizuo uncomfortable, and he turned to leave.

“… If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.” 

“No! No, I want to!” You stammered, grabbed your lunchbox, and hurried to his side. “I want to.” You repeated, looking up at him, and hopefully convincing him that asking you to lunch hadn't been a bad idea. 

Shizuo considered you for a second before giving in. “Okay,” he said. “Then let’s go.”

And since then, you joined them for lunch on the roof every day. You thought the roof was probably the best place for Shizuo to be, anyway. Less people to bother him up there, and way less noisy than the classroom. And if Izaya bothered him, there was less risk of destroying school property in the aftermath and a higher chance of Shizuo flinging Izaya off the roof, so Izaya probably wouldn't risk it. 

You fall into a routine, and before you know it, two months have already passed since the entrance ceremony. 

You haven’t figured out too much about the Chie mystery; you did manage to get her bike repaired and have started riding it to school. Shizuo does not like it when you ring your bell repeatedly at him, and you stop because he has already threatened to pick up your bike with you on it multiple times. You only really ride it on the way to school, and walk it when you’re on the way home with Shinra and Shizuo. 

Shizuo and Izaya miraculously manage to keep the majority of their spats under control during school hours, and while you’d like to think they’re as concerned about school property as you are, it’s probably because they realized that it was very possible for them to get expelled at the rate they were going.

That’s your best guess, anyway. It makes sense for Izaya to want a high school degree, since you’re pretty sure he ends up pursuing higher education, but you’re not sure why Shizuo is so persistent about getting his degree. Most likely because he doesn’t want to end up as some kind of disappointment to Kasuka.

Anyway, you, Shinra, and Shizuo are like three peas in a pod, and you’re thankful for it. Izaya can’t get close to you, and neither can anybody else, really; either because Shizuo chases them off, or his presence is just too terrifying to approach any time he’s at your side. You still talk to Takeda and Kuchiki, but most of your time is spent with _the boys_ , as your mother has started calling them.

You’re a little surprised by how peacefully the last two months have gone by, but you’re definitely not ungrateful. The only unfortunate thing is that there’s really been no opportunity to talk to Shinra about anything supernatural, and at this rate, you’re never going to get back home. 

“You good?”

Shizuo’s voice pulls you out of your ‘protagonist-giving-exposition’ self-reflection. That’s right; the two of you are walking home without Shinra for once. You think Shinra said something about the health committee before leaving you and Shizuo behind in the classroom. 

You give Shizuo a tired smile and reply, “Yeah, I’m fine…”, which seems to quell his worries, because he nods and looks back at the road. 

You roll back your shoulders and stretch your neck. “Just thinking about the sports festival,” you elbow him playfully. “You excited to roll some balls?”

Shizuo scoffs. “Yeah, whatever. I wanted to do the calvary battle, but Shishio wouldn’t let me sign up.” he grumbles. You privately think you respect Shishio’s judgement on this one.

“Well, at least you’ll win.” You sigh. “Shinra and I being paired up for the three-legged race is a serious mistake… we might be the least coordinated people in class.” 

“It’ll be pretty funny to watch, though.” Shizuo grins at your childish and pouting expression. “Who knows, maybe you’ll fall on your face.” 

God, sometimes he’s just as mean as Izaya! He easily steps aside to avoid your jab, and you have to steady your bike as it wobbles at your lack of balance. 

Shizuo grabs one of your handlebars to steady it, and you’re about to thank him when you realize he isn’t looking at you anymore.

You look in front of the two of you, where four comically tough looking thugs are blocking your path. You thought it was just a joke, but the one you assume is the leader really has one of those exaggerated blonde pompadours. You cover your mouth, and you hope they think it’s in fear, but it’s really just you trying to stifle a giggle.

“You Heiwajima Shizuo?” Pompadour says, taking a step forward and jutting out his hip. Wow, this is so dramatic.

“Yeah,” says Shizuo, also taking a step forward. “who’s asking?” _He’s so cool._ Also, you should be more concerned that this looks like it’s going to turn into a fight very fast.

“Your future worst enemy,” growls Pompadour, but it’s a little too exaggerated and he sounds a bit like he smokes too much. Maybe he does, if the cigarette hanging from his mouth is any indication. 

“Heard you think you’re the big cheese in these parts… The four of us came to drag you back down to earth.” The other three goons behind pompadour take their steps forward now, and you realize, oh, they all have weapons.

You don’t get to inspect their weapons very long, however, because Shizuo moves in front of you and gently moves you to the side. You grab his arm in what you know will ultimately be a fruitless attempt to maintain the peace. “Heiwajima, let’s just keep going…” you whisper.

Shizuo hesitates, and for a second, you think you’ve convinced him.

“And then after we’re done with you,” Pompadour continues, “we’ll play with your little girlfriend, too.” 

You feel Shizuo’s whole body tense up.

What was with these delinquent guys and extremely cliched lines? Did they not realize that they sounded like two-bit villains? What next, _‘I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!’_?

Either way, it pisses Shizuo off, and you don’t think it’s because he’s as upset about the delinquents fulfilling cheap tropes as you are.

Shizuo growls, and you step back as he throws his school bag to the ground. You have half the mind to go and grab it before it gets destroyed, but when you see Shizuo pull a lightpost free from the street, you change your mind.

You know that Shizuo was frequently harassed by tons of gangsters and delinquents throughout high school at Izaya’s request, but you’re surprised this is the first you’ve seen of it.

Pompadour’s cigarette falls out of his mouth and you can only assume Izaya "neglected" to inform them of Shizuo’s superhuman strength.

You close your eyes, still not used to the brutal violence Shizuo rains down on his enemies. He roars, the delinquents scream, and when you open your eyes to look, you can only assume Shizuo struck a home run.

In which the delinquents are the baseball, and the light post is… yeah, you get it.

You and Shizuo watch the delinquents fade into only a glimmer in the distance until Shizuo picks his bag off the ground. The two of you fall back into step as if nothing happened, you rolling your bike along at his side. You are quietly relieved that he opted to not involve your bike in the confrontation.

The two of you walk in silence for a few more minutes, and you note that it’s been staying lighter longer. It is June already, after all… and after the sports festival is over, you’re going to have to start prepping for exams. It seems Chie was a decent student, and considering you’re learning most of the class material for the second time, you’re not too worried. And having Shizuo and Shinra over to study will probably be fun: Kanji seems to find Shizuo very cool and Shinra very annoying, but your parents are unsure what to make of the two of them. They’re probably like Chie’s old friends, after all.

“That’s been happening a lot recently,” mutters Shizuo, breaking you out of your inner monologue once again.

“Huh?” 

“Delinquents picking fights and stuff. Usually after you and Shinra are gone, though.” Shizuo rubs the back of his neck, almost like he’s shy, but he just looks tired. “Sometimes they’re waiting outside my house.” 

Wow, Izaya really doesn’t hold back, huh. 

“It pisses me off,” Shizuo growls, and you watch him grip the strap of his schoolbag until his knuckles turn white. “Really pisses me off.”

“How long has this been going on?” You ask.

“For the last month.” sighs Shizuo. “Usually before and after school.” 

“I’m sorry,” you say, and Shizuo looks at you with a confused look. “I mean, that that’s happening to you. Orihara is a real piece of work.”

You keep walking, not noticing that Shizuo has now stopped. “That’s crazy, even sending them to your house? I gotta say, those delinquents don’t seem very smart…”

“…You mean that flea is sending those assholes after me?”

You stop, finally realizing Shizuo is no longer at your side. You double-take and turn around to face him. Shizuo is quivering with anger, like his body can’t even contain the sheer amount of rage that is threatening to boil over inside him right now.

_You mean that flea is sending those assholes after me?_

He didn’t know that?

_ …Was anyone supposed to know that but Izaya? _

“Uh,” you stammer, and you feel like your eyes are spinning as you search for a way to take it back. “I mean,”

You fail.

“Yes…?”

You can’t see Shizuo’s face, and his shaking slowly subsides. There’s no way you knowing that Izaya was coordinating hundreds of attacks on Shizuo didn’t look suspicious. Or at the very least, that you apparently knew and didn’t tell him isn’t a very good friend thing to do. 

“I’m gonna kill him,” Shizuo announces and you look up at him in shock. “I’m gonna fucking wring his neck when I see him at school tomorrow.”

Oh.

“Uh, Heiwajima,” you start.

“It might be on me for being too stupid to figure that out if everyone already else has,” he growls, walking past you now. “But that doesn’t matter. It only matters because I didn’t kill him before now…! Kill, kill, kill, kill…” 

You and Chie’s bike can only watch pathetically as Shizuo stalks down the street.

…You don’t know if that went well or not, but you can absolutely not allow a slip up like that in front of anyone again, no matter how slow Shizuo can be sometimes.

-

“Oh, yeah, that definitely sounds like something Izaya-kun would do!”

You quietly munch on your broccoli while you, Shinra, and Shizuo sit in a circle on the roof. Luckily, the whole “knowing your worst enemy is coordinating hundreds of attacks on you” thing has been mostly brushed off as Shizuo being too stupid to figure it out.

You guess if you know Izaya, it makes sense, like Shinra just said. But you’re not supposed to know Izaya.

“There are a couple people from middle school that got their entire lives ruined after they crossed him,” continues Shinra, also taking a bite of your broccoli, and you bat his chopsticks away with your own. “I haven’t heard from them since!”

You make sure Shinra isn’t gonna make any more attempts on your lunch before looking at Shizuo. He’s quietly stewing, nibbling on the ends of his chopsticks, and he looks to be deep in thought. But he’s clearly not happy.

“Hey!” You pipe up. “What’d you say I get us all some bread? I bet there’s still some strawberry bread left over…” you shoot Shizuo a hopeful smile. Strawberry bread is his favorite, after all. Well, anything sweet, and Shizuo is happy.

Shinra grins. “Chie-chan, you’re a godsend! I want a noodle bread— or two if you can get it!” You roll your eyes at Shinra. “Don’t get greedy now,” you tease. “I’ll be right back!”

You put down your lunch and hurry off the roof with wallet in hand as Shinra and Shizuo watch you go.

“… Bet you think Chie-chan makes pretty good wife material— OW!!!!”

-

You feel lucky that Chie is pretty tall; In your normal body, you wouldn’t have been able to see over the massive crowd surrounding the school shop. You squint, and… yes! It looks like there is one strawberry bread left!

You wade through the crowd, maneuvering around your fellow classmates. You aren’t letting anyone else get their dirty paws on that bread… Shizuo’s happiness is at stake!

Bursting out of the crowd at the other end, you note that unfortunately that while they have strawberry bread, they’re out of noodle bread. Oh well, Shinra’s just going to have to make do with melon bread. You grab one strawberry bread, two melon breads, and a red bean bread for yourself. You manage to balance them all in your arms, make your purchase, and head for the door when…

**BAM!** Your chin collides with the floor and all the bread spills out of your arms.

Ow… That really fucking hurt! You could have sworn your leg hit something on the way down, but there shouldn’t have been anything to trip on in your way…

You look up to check the condition of the bread and see that someone is digging their heel into the strawberry bread, effectively smashing it and causing the sweet filling to stain the plastic wrapping.

Your gaze follows the heel to the leg it’s attached to, and you lock eyes with Izaya.

You should have known.

“Oops… Didn’t see you there. You okay? ” He smirks, and you bite your tongue. Another cliche, but you think that this one is intentionally to make fun of you, unlike the delinquents from yesterday.

Keep it together. Channel Chie. Or whatever you think Chie’s personality is supposed to be.

You give him a strained smile and start gathering the bread back into your arms, and you have to pull a little on the strawberry bread before he releases it from under his heel.

“Not a problem…” you grate out and stand back up. “It happens.”

Much to your chagrin, Izaya does not leave you alone and joins you at your side as you make your way down the hall.

“That’s a lot of bread,” he remarks. “Surely it’s not all for you!”

You think you get why Shizuo calls Izaya a flea now.

“No… It’s to share.” You reply, not even gracing him with a look as you focus on just putting one foot in front of the other. You are not letting him trip you again.

“Ohhh…” Izaya reacts in mock apprehension. “For you, Shinra, and Shizu-chan, right? You three make quite the trio!”

You just keep walking. He’s just baiting you.

“It’s remarkable, really. A completely normal girl like Otsuka Chie keeping company with a monster like Heiwajima Shizuo…?”

Don’t look at him.

“Maybe you’re using him for your own gain? Like a bodyguard?”

Why is he still following you?

“Would be kind of bizarre for someone like you to need a bodyguard, though. You did survive a 89.5 foot fall without any damage at all… Shizu-chan is a monster, but maybe you’re just as bad?”

You can’t help yourself. Maybe it’s the stress of the last two months, but something snaps in you. Your head turns so fast you think your neck breaks, and your voice, well, Chie’s voice comes out higher and faster than you’ve ever heard it before.

“Oh my god, do you ever shut up? In case you haven’t noticed, I have absolutely no interest in having anything to do with a scrawny, immature, outright annoying brat like you! **Now leave me alone!** ”

And with that, you storm up the stairs to the roof. That was most likely a mistake, your voice was shrill and unsteady, but it was kind of worth it for the shocked/amused expression on Izaya’s face (which you think twitched when you called him scrawny).

“Well, now.” Izaya remarks quietly to himself. “That wasn’t very hard.”

-

Shizuo and Shinra jump as you slam the roof door open and toss their bread into their laps.

“Eat up,” you grumble, quickly opening your bread and shoving it in your mouth. “Lunch ends in 15 minutes.”

Shizuo and Shinra look at each other before also quickly opening their bread and digging in. Shizuo does not comment on the smashed state of his bread, but he does comment: “This strawberry bread smells kind of weird.”

-

You wake up early the next day, though not intentionally. Your confrontation with Izaya was bothering you: not only did you totally allow yourself to get provoked, but you directly insulted him.

Operation: Pretend Orihara Izaya Doesn’t Exist was not going so well.

You roll over and look at the clock on your bedside table. It was 5:45, and you didn’t really have to be up until 6:30. You and your mom were going to prepare lunchboxes for you, Shizuo, and Shinra as a special treat for The Sports Festival, then you were off to school.

The Sports Festival.

Knowing Izaya, he was going to find a way to ruin it. Maybe he would poison all the strawberry bread in the bread eating race in an attempt to kill Shizuo.

You roll over and shove your head facedown into your pillow.

Just thinking about bread reminds you of yesterday and sends you into a spiral.

Your anxiety is just coming up with all kinds of crazy theories: Izaya was the main mastermind behind everything in the anime, right? Maybe Chie wasn’t the witch, but HE was, and he summoned you in some sort of ancient alchemy ritual.

Your soul was traded with Chie’s… And now you had to collect all the chaos emeralds before you were sent to hell.

Okay, maybe you should just get up.

You sit up and notice that your phone was blinking, indicating that you had a new message. It had taken you a little while to get used to the flip phone again; you hadn’t used one in a very long time.

Flipping it open and closed did make you feel pretty cool, though.

You had three messages from Shizuo. That was rare… he was rarely a triple-texter. You click them open to see:

_[11:45pm] 🦖_

_ [11:45pm] sorry that was an accident _

_[12:30am] see u at the sports festival tmrw ✊_

… He was so cute. Was that supposed to be a fist pump or was he punching you? You laugh, type out a quick reply, and snap your phone shut, already feeling a lot better.

_ [5:47am] yeah, see you there!! _

-

“Shinra, you have to stay still—“

“Are you sure you’re tying it right? I think you have to do it like an infinity sign.”

You pause.

“Wait, what does that mean? Like this?” You try again and Shinra slaps your hands away.

“No, like this.” He starts tying the piece of cloth rapidly and way too tight.

“Ow-ow- **ow!!** Don’t you think that’s too tight?!”

You are not going to have feeling in your right foot after this.

Shinra finishes the tie with a double knot and nods as if to emphasize his handiwork.

“Ok, now we just…”

Shinra starts to stand, supporting himself on your shoulder. You hold onto his arm and tried to support yourself on your knee as the two of you rise up. You're feeling okay about it until Shinra tries to go too fast and the two of you tumble to the ground in a disjointed heap.

“Kishitani!!” You cry, lifting your face from the dirt of the track. “You can’t go so fast!”

“My bad…” Shinra spits out some dirt and takes off his glasses to assess the damage.

You hear snickering from the audience, which you know came from Shizuo. You weakly shake your fist at him and he feigns innocence.

You and Shinra finally manage to stand on four feet and take your places at the start of the track. You appraise your opponents: Judo club captain, the volleyball team ace, and the point guard from the basketball team. Yeah, this is going to go great.

“On your marks…”

You and Shinra struggle to get into a kneeling position.

“Get set…”

“Wait, I think we weren’t supposed to do that part yet—“

“GO!”

Shishio fires the pistol, and the two of you are off.

You hold on to Shinra for dear life and desperately try to match pace with him. The two of you were already fighting a losing battle with your competition, but your combined complete lack of coordination was shaping up to be your greatest downfall.

“No, Shinra, left, then right!”

“But we started on left!”

You two are bringing up dead last, and you can already see the winners celebrating in the distance.

You and Shinra practically walk the finish line, the two of you heaving and panting. It wasn’t that you were particularly exhausted from running fast: just trying to coordinate with Shinra was one of the most tiring experiences of your short life.

Practically ripping the ribbon off from around your ankles, the two of you wander over to regroup with Shizuo and get some water.

Shizuo is standing with Kadota, the two of them poorly trying to contain their laughter.

“So…” Shizuo starts, holding out a water bottle.

“I don’t wanna hear it.” You snatch the water from Shizuo’s hand and take a long, long sip. “I told everyone this was going to be a disaster from the very beginning…!”

You take another long sip, and Shizuo watches you with amusement.

“And another thing, I—!” You pause. Was that a shit-eating, red-eyed little bitch you spied in the crowd?

Shizuo turn to follow your gaze, but you shove the water bottle back into his arms before he could make a full 180.

“I… am excited to see you win this race!” You finish, knowing that was definitely not a convincing end to your sentence but accepting it anyway. There were far too many people and way too much dangerous sports equipment around for a Shizuo vs Izaya showdown right now.

Considering how pissed Shizuo was after finding out Izaya was responsible for his daily beatdowns before and after school, you didn’t think their temporary truce during school hours was going to really apply here.

“Huh?” Shizuo turns to look back down at you. “Uh, yeah. I don’t think it’s going to really be as exciting as you’re making it out to be.”

“C’mon, what’s not entertaining about a couple guys rolling some balls! Right, Kadota?”

Kadota did not respond, currently trying to smack the water out of a choking Shinra’s throat. You decide to assume that Shinra was choking because he laughed too hard at your joke.

“All ball-rolling race participants, please make your way to the track!” The loudspeakers crackle over the crowd. You give Shizuo a pat on the arm and a thumbs up.

“You’ve got this!”

Shizuo smiles at you fondly. “Yeah, don’t you worry. I’ll bring back first place for sure.” He places a large hand on your head and ruffles your hair slightly before jogging over to the track.

You watch after Shizuo, placing your own hand on your head where his had been just moments before.

“Hehehehehehe….”

You turn to see Shinra looking at you gleefully, snickering obnoxiously while sipping some water.

“What’s so funny, Kishitani?”

“Nothing, nothing…” He sighs dramatically and goes to take another sip of his water when you jab him in the side, sending him into another choking fit.

You turn back to the track, where Shizuo and several other guys from your year were getting ready to run. Further down the track were several large colorful inflatable balls. This was going to be a pretty bizarre sight.

“On your marks…”

Oh, so that’s what on your marks meant. You and Shinra did it wrong after all.

“Get set…”

“Ow, that’s my foot, Chie-chan!”

“GO!”

Shishio fires the pistol into the air, Shizuo begins to run, and suddenly you’re being dragged by the arm into the crowd.

Whoever was dragging you had a really strong grip, and when you manage to steady yourself to try and catch a look, they’re turned away from you. It didn’t look like anyone you knew from the back of their head.

They pull you over behind the gym, and roughly throw you towards the wall. You flinch as you make contact, the brick scraping your arms.

You look up to see three guys glaring down at you who you had never seen before. You think they’re third years… maybe?

Either way, you have no idea what they want with you, and you’re internally cursing Shinra for being so oblivious to his surroundings sometimes.

This is a little scary. You got a little too comfortable with having Shizuo by your side 24/7; he disappears for one second and disaster strikes.

“Uh…” You begin shakily, then clear your throat and attempt to speak more confidently. “Can… I help you?”

“Uh…” The guy in the middle mocks you in an obnoxious high voice. “Yeah, you can help us. You’re Heiwajima Shizuo’s girl, right?”

Not this shit again!

Not only is it getting repetitive, you’re getting pretty tired of only being relevant in relation to men!

You stare at the guy in disbelief, which he chooses to take as acceptance.

“You are, huh?”

“Wait, no—“

You can’t help but think this is oddly similar to a scene from a shojo manga. You know, the classic scene where three bullies take the protagonist behind the school and ask, ‘are you dating Shizuo-kun?! Shizuo-kun belongs to all of us… you’re so selfish!’ Then the male lead shows up, calls them all disgusting, then does a backflip or something. You guess if Shizuo is the male lead in this case, he'll just throw them like frisbees.

You think you’d prefer that to this alternative.

“Well, it’s nothing personal, kid.” The guy takes another step forward, and places a hand on the wall next to your head, making you flinch. “We’re just gonna have to rough you up a bit to send a message.”

You turn away, but he gets in your space, forcing you to look upwards. God, aren’t there any teachers around? Also, how are there so many trashy people at your school?

“I don’t really like to hit girls, but Orihara said this was the best way…”

You blink. Oh, they’re just really going to namedrop Izaya like that? Also, you were reconsidering anything you had ever said about high school Izaya potentially being less harmless. If what this guy was saying was accurate, Izaya had sent 3 guys to beat up one girl.

You were really gonna lose it. You began to tremble.

“Aw, you scared?”

Yeah, obviously.

But oddly, you felt a lack of consequence. This wasn’t your world. Maybe if they hit you hard enough, they’d knock you out of Chie’s body and back into your universe.

...Lack of consequence, huh. Maybe you were “reborn” for a reason. To do all the things you had wished you could do in your own world but couldn’t.

Psych, no way were you going to let this guy hit you! That sounded way too scary! And you still wanted to hold Shizuo’s hand, at least once! And punch Izaya in the nose!

To hell with it all!

“You bastards…” you mumble.

“Huh?”

“You BASTARDS!” is your battle cry as you jump into action, swinging your arm up and delivering a sharp uppercut to your assailants jaw. The other two guys watch helplessly as their leader is sent flying to the ground, then trade terrified looks with each other.

“Takeeee this!” You scream, kicking the one on the right in the shin. He cries out and falls to the ground, cradling his knee.

“I’m not done yet!!” For your final move, you grab a nearby bucket that had been left out and fling it at the last remaining guy, who was trying to make a swift getaway. It comically hit him on the back of his head, and he too, kisses the ground.

“Wow, that actually worked…” you admire your handiwork, all three guys lying on the ground, and wonder if you should gloat at Izaya later, suggesting he pick some better thugs.

No, that was directly counter to Operation: Pretend Orihara Izaya Doesn’t Exist and Izaya would most likely take you up on that suggestion.

Ok, you just need to get back to Shizuo and Shinra. It was a little disappointing that the race was most likely already over, but the three of you could still enjoy your lunches together.

“…Where do you think you’re going, you bitch…!”

Guy #1 is on his feet again, and he's pulling you back by your ponytail. Your uppercut probably only worked due to the element of surprise… Chie is by no means a trained fighter, and you had hesitated before leaving. This was your mistake.

“Ow, ow… Let go of me, jerk!” You cry out in pain, grabbing at the hand that's gripping your ponytail.

“I bet you thought that was funny, huh? Real funny knocking me to the ground, right!?” He raises his fist and you clench your eyes shut in anticipation, letting go of his hand to cover your head in some attempt to protect yourself.

And… nothing.

You peek one eye open to see a giant red ball hurtling at the two of you at mach speed. The guy lets you go in shock, and you leap to the side at the last minute as he’s sent flying by the sheer force of the ball, which bounces a couple times before rolling to a stop.

You turn back to look at where the ball came from, where your very angry savior was breathing heavily.

“Heiwajima!”

Thank goodness.

You rush to his side, and Shizuo keeps his eyes locked on the three guys, who are now desperately regrouping and trembling in fear. This is one beatdown you don’t want to miss.

“Get out of here,” he starts in a low growl. “Before I fucking kill you.”

You swear you hear one of them scream in fear before they all break into a sprint, disappearing around the other side of the gym. Wow, maybe they should have participated in one of the races instead of bullying you, they’re really fast!

You look up at Shizuo, who is already looking down at you. And he’s still really mad. Uh oh.

“What the hell was that?” He starts, and you take a step back; not out of fear, but to give him some space.

Perhaps you should save the “oh, Orihara stuck these guys on me in an attempt to hurt you” explanation for after the Sports Festival.

“Uh…” you begin. You think that whoever sent you here should have picked someone else; you’ve always been a terrible liar.

When all else fails, change the subject!

“… did you win the race?” You attempt, an uneasy smile on your face, but Shizuo takes a large step forward, now looking furious.

“Shut up!” He snaps.“Answer my fucking question!”

You flinch out of instinct at his raised voice and he eases up a bit. His tone was shocking; he had never spoken to you like that before.

“Are those more of that fucker’s guys?” He asks again, only marginally quieter this time. “Did Izaya send those guys after you?”

To say otherwise would be a lie, so… You nod.

Shizuo shouts in frustration and turns away from you, grabbing the red ball from earlier with his hand. His grip is so strong the ball explodes from the tension in a loud pop, and you jump.

The two of you stand there in silence for a minute longer, the only sound Shizuo’s heavy breaths and you shifting your feet awkwardly in the dirt.

“…Heiwajima, let’s go back. We still have our lunches…” You place a gentle hand on his back, and his labored breathing eases a little bit.

“I hope you made a lunch for me too, Chie-chan. I’d love to try your cooking.”

Shizuo’s back tenses up.

You’re starting to feel sick.

(Why can he never just initiate an interaction like a normal person?)

You and Shizuo look over to see Izaya leaning against the wall of the gym, arms crossed and one foot pressed up against the wall. He’s smiling and his eyes are dancing with amusement.

“You fucker…” Shizuo growls, turning to face Izaya. “You sent these assholes after Otsuka?”

Izaya steps away from the wall, placing his hands in the pockets of his gym shorts, and you can only assume he’s currently got a hand on one of his knives.

“Actually, about that…” Izaya sighs and shrugs, looking what you think is slightly exasperated. “I didn’t. In case you didn’t notice, they weren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer.” He locks eyes with Shizuo and his trademark smirk is back. “I actually suggested they go after your brother.”

Shizuo’s eyes go wide with rage and you assess that this situation has quickly flown out of your hands with Izaya’s last statement.

“I guess they were too stupid to figure out who your brother was, and went after what they thought was the next best thing—“ Izaya gestures at you. “Your supposed girlfriend. But none of us could have predicted Chie’s amazing comeback... Except maybe Chie.”

So he was watching the whole time.

From behind Izaya, you see one of the first year teachers spot the three of you.

“Hey, Orihara, Heiwajima, Otsuka.” She calls. “Quit messing around back here, it’s time for the—“

Shizuo’s fist collides with the side of the gym, and the brick crumbles around his hand, as well as a good part of the wall.

The teacher decides this is not the hill she’s willing to die on and makes a speedy u-turn.

Against your better judgement and under tension so thick you think you’ll drown in it, you sneak a peek at Shizuo’s face. You do a double take as you see that he has a wide grin on his face to match Izaya’s.

“I see,” growls Shizuo. “So you actually want to die.”

And with that, they’re off. You hear crashes and screams as they begin to wreck havoc on the sports festival, and you think you catch Shinra yelping out their names.

You can only put your face in your hands.


	3. Class Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> huh? what's this? the plot?

You think that the passage of time works differently in this world: everything seems to happen much faster.

Summer break flies by in a flash of ice cream, beach trips, and sweat.

You kind of wish that the passage of time was different, because it seems that the good times fly right by you and the bad times…

Well, the bad times seem to feel like a million years long with Izaya and Shizuo around.

6 months have already gone by. You’re beginning to think that this really isn’t going anywhere and you’re just stuck attending high school (which is hellish enough) with two psychopaths. Usually in isekai, which comedically still exist in this world but have yet to reach their prime in popularity, there’s some kind of goal.

The protagonist is also typically reborn instead of thrown through an auditorium ceiling. Like reborn as a literal baby who has to make changes early on to prevent disaster from striking later in the plot line.

Shizuo and Izaya are 17, which makes you think it’s just a little too late to impart any kind of wisdom on them that will miraculously prevent them from wrecking havoc on Ikebukuro. Izaya is an immovable force of nature, and well, if you can’t stop Izaya, you can’t stop Shizuo.

Speaking of which, _Operation: Pretend Orihara Izaya_ Doesn’t Exist is officially a failure. You’ve now moved onto _Operation: Make It Through The Rest Of High School So I Can Move Far Far Away From Ikebukuro (But I Will Still Send Shizuo and Shinra Postcards)._

Izaya still harasses Shizuo on a regular basis, and you’re often thrown in when Izaya needs just a little extra provocation. Shizuo falls for it every single time and more often than not, you and Shinra are walking home alone.

You hear Okinawa is pretty nice. Maybe you’ll move there.

-

“It looks like we’ll be going to Kinkaku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera…Nishiki Market, Fushimi Inari Taisha… and… Ooh! Gion! We’ll get to see geishas!” Shinra reads the class trip itinerary aloud excitedly to you and Shizuo during a class break, turned around in his chair to face your desks.

The sophomore class trip this year is to Kyoto, about a 2 and a half hour train trip away. While you’re excited, you have quietly accepted that the chaos that will strike on this trip is unavoidable. It is clearly too much to ask for a peaceful visit.

“It’s mostly shrines, right?” Shizuo takes the itinerary from Shinra and flips it over, scanning it quickly. “… Looks like we get to pick our groups.”

“I’m excited for the free day,” you say and look down at your own itinerary. “I want to go to Arashiyama and see the monkeys!”

Shizuo chuckles. “Yeah, so you can go see your brethren?” He points at your ears which you immediately cover in embarrassment. It feels a little weird since it’s not technically your body, but Chie’s big ears are Shizuo’s favorite thing to tease you about. You think he just likes it cause your ears turn bright red whenever he does.

You look back down at the itinerary, one hand still on your ear. You and your class are set to leave out this coming Monday, and the trip is supposed to last 3 days and 2 nights. That’s a lot of time for things to go wrong, you think, and wonder if the school has already settled potential damages with the hotel you’ll be staying in. It’s kind of admirable the school is still trying to treat Izaya and Shizuo as normal students after all the havoc they’ve wreaked.

“You’ll probably like all the shrines,” you say, kicking Shizuo’s chair with your foot. “Cause you’re _bo-ring._ ”

“Oh yeah?” Shizuo grins threateningly, grabs your chair, and makes like he’s going to tip it over. You cling onto your desk and Shizuo falters, unable to come up with any kind of comeback. “Well, you’ll… you’ll…”

The two of you are not particularly witty.

“Oh, I’d love to see Celty dressed as a geisha…” Shinra squeals, obviously in his own little world.

How would that even work…? You feel like one of the most integral parts of being dressed as a geisha is the whole… hair/face thing, and Celty does not… have either one of those. Shizuo appears to be thinking the same thing.

“Okay,” Shishio calls and the three of you turn to face the front. “For those of you who chose an elective subject, it’s your period next. Get going!”

-

“Due to a classroom scheduling conflict, 2-B and 2-F are going to be sharing the class space for Home Ec today… So get comfortable, kids!”

The teacher turns around from the board and is met with a classroom filled with very unhappy teenagers.

You are currently standing next to an enraged Shizuo behind one of the preparation tables, who’s sheer presence is enough to make all the students in a 5 foot radius tremble in fear.

You discreetly peek over your shoulder to the back corner of the classroom. Izaya Orihara is standing next to a few boys from your class and he doesn’t look too happy, either.

You can’t decide whether a grinning or frowning Izaya scares you more.

Turning back, you peek up at Shizuo, who is clenching the wooden cooktop so hard that it’s beginning to crumble. He’s really doing his best to hold it together, isn’t he?

“On that note,” The teacher continues. “We’ll have you split up into groups of three. And in the spirit of mixing things up, I’m going to be pairing you up with people from outside of your class!”

Uh oh. You shoot a panicked look at Shizuo, but he’s a little too preoccupied glaring daggers at Izaya who is pointedly ignoring him.

The teacher calls the names off the class roster, with seemingly no pattern to the composition besides there are no pure 2-B or 2-F groups.

“Kurosaki, Satou, and Heiwajima.” You and Shizuo exchange a look and he gives you a short nod as he joins the rest of his group, too angry to produce words at the moment.

Oh well.

“Otsuba, Nara, and Orihara.”

Oh _NO._

_“_ If you haven’t already, join up with your groups and introduce yourselves!” You’re the only one who hasn’t joined up yet, your teacher is just trying to not single you out. Might as well just get this over with.

You can feel the pure anger radiating off Shizuo from the other side of the room as you slowly trudge over to Nara and Izaya at their table.

“I don’t think this bodes very well for me.” Izaya remarks as you come around the cooking station, a stiff smirk on his face. You glance back at Shizuo, who is currently crushing a frying pan like it’s made of aluminum foil. “Yeah, neither do I.” You reply.

It looks like today you’ll all be making carrot cake, which strikes you as a little arbitrary but you brush it off. You and Nara head over to the supply closet to gather the ingredients while Izaya just sits on the counter.

Little prick.

You glance at Nara as he starts to pull down the flour and sugar. You don’t really think you’ve ever heard him speak, but it looks like he’s familiar with Izaya despite being in your class. He doesn’t really seem to have that many friends and mostly keeps to himself.

You grab the cream cheese out of the fridge along with the milk. Well, might as well to try and make some allies in these troubled times.

“Hey Nara, can you—“

Nara brushes right past you and returns to Izaya. You’re frozen with far too many things in your hands.

Hm.

Ok.

This was going to be one of those days that felt like a million years, huh?

You balance the rest of the items in your arms and manage to get back to the counter safely. Izaya just watches you as you unload the rest of the ingredients onto the table. “Wow, you carried all that by yourself?”

Keep it together, Chie.

“Ok!” You say brightly, but you think it sounds a little strained. “Nara-kun, why don’t you prepare the icing? Orihara and I can prep the cake as soon as he gets off the countertop!” The sooner this is over, the better.

“I don’t know,” Izaya starts, hopping down from the counter and his usual smirk working its way onto his face. “Shouldn’t we decide who does what as a group? You’re not our leader, Chie-chan.” Your mouth drops open (even though you shouldn’t really be surprised at this behavior by now) and look to Nara, who is pointedly looking at anything but you.

“Okay…” You grate out. “How do you want to do it?”

“Hmm…” Izaya places a finger on his chin like he’s pretending to think. “I know! Why don’t you and I prep the cake and Nara makes the icing?”

This asshole.

“Great! Then let’s get started!” You say shrilly and slam open the cabinet directly behind him which Izaya narrowly avoids. You pull out some mixing bowls, Nara slinks to the side and also pulls out a mixing bowl to start the icing.

Izaya doesn’t do much of anything to help besides watching you as you combine the ingredients together with an electric mixer. To be fair, it’s not like you were really leaving him any room to as you aggressively cracked the eggs with one hand and threw them into the bowl.

Your group, blissfully, works in silence.

Izaya apparently grows bored with the silence fairly quickly, and he starts fiddling with one of the kitchen knives. They should really have those under lock and key with students like Izaya and Shizuo around. Not to mention the hordes of goons that apparently went to your school that were constantly harassing you.

“So, Shizu-chan has a _pretty big crush_ on you, huh.”

You drop the mixer into the bowl, and Izaya takes a step backwards to avoid the splatter like he was expecting this reaction. You narrowly avoid spilling the batter everywhere as you desperately fumble to turn the mixer off before turning it upright.

“You can’t really be _that_ shocked.” Izaya remarks, watching you get back to work with his chin in his hand. “You spend a lot of time together… I don’t blame you for pretending not to know, though.” He plays with the kitchen knife, making mini cuts into the counter, and you think he looks particularly psychotic today. “I wouldn’t want to end up getting beat by Shizu-chan, either. And the chance of bringing kids into that…? No thank you.” Izaya looks up at you, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

He’s bored.

He’s bored, so he’s trying to provoke you.

And what, get a rise out of you so Shizuo comes after him and he can cut class in the chaos? No way, Izaya could and would absolutely just leave if he didn’t want to be in class anymore.

_ He’s just enjoying himself, that’s all. _

...You wonder what he thinks of you; you seem to really only exist to him as a device to torment Shizuo. You thought he might try to figure out more about your mysterious appearance at the entrance ceremony, but 6 months had gone by and you doubt you really know anything more than he does at this point.

In this circumstance, you’re just someone he can harass without any real consequence. Maybe he’ll get a rise out of you and alleviate his boredom for the rest of class.

You wonder if Izaya cringes looking back on his high school years like a normal person: his temper is definitely shorter, and his mask isn’t quite so perfectly crafted yet.

Oddly, in this moment, he doesn’t annoy you. He just makes you feel sad for him.

You don’t think he would have received the same response from you if you had met him in his adult years for the first time.

Izaya’s eyes narrow at your lack of reaction, and he opens his mouth again, clearly to push you further.

“Nothing to say? Have you already considered—“

“Stop it.” You say, turning off the mixer and tapping the remaining batter on the whisks into the bowl. “You’re just embarrassing yourself.”

You think you barely hear Izaya’s breath catch in his throat, and he closes his mouth. He watches you with a small frown as you start pouring the batter into your prepped cake pans.

You’re a little surprised by yourself, too. 6 months of constant harassment and unwanted psychoanalysis does wonders for your self esteem, you guess.

“Uh…” You and Izaya turn to face Nara, who is holding out his mixing bowl. “The icing is done.”

To call it icing… would be generous. It’s oddly runny and resembles when you pour water in a glass that was just holding milk.

“Hmm…” You start, wondering how this can possibly be salvaged. “How much cream cheese did you add?”

“Two tablespoons…”

Well, that explains things.

“That looks terrible,” Izaya sighs, and Nara visibly wilts. “Our cake is probably doomed at this point.”

“That’s not true, the cake should be okay—“ you catch yourself and turn back to Nara. “Uh, we probably just need to add more cream cheese, okay? Can you go get some more?

Nara says nothing, puts the bowl on the counter, and walks off in the direction of the fridge.

-

Nara never comes back, so you and Izaya (well, mostly you) decide that bad icing is better than no icing at all after the cake comes out of the oven.

The cake… looks… _okay._

“I don’t think anyone should eat this…” You say.

“We’ve already got one interested customer,” says Izaya, and you can hear the smile in his voice. You look up to see Shizuo standing in front of your counter.

“Where’s Nata?”

“Nara,” you correct. “And we don’t know. He just kind of up and left.”

“Huh.” Shizuo grunts, and you can tell he’s pointedly not looking at Izaya. He really _is_ trying to be a good friend to you.

You try not to think about the _pretty big crush_ that Izaya mentioned earlier.

Shizuo grabs a plastic fork and takes a bite of a small piece out of the cake. You can’t read his expression, and he’s managed to get a couple crumbs of carrot cake on his face. You think it’s kind of funny, but Izaya seems to find it kind of disgusting if his grossed out expression is any indication.

Shizuo swallows the cake and seems to consider it for a few seconds before speaking.

“Well, the cake is pretty good. The icing… needs some work.”

You appreciate his honest appraisal and are about to respond when—

“Uh oh, Shizu-chan. Wrong answer. Can you guess which of us made the cake and who made the icing?”

Shizuo glares at Izaya before finally understanding what he’s saying, and looks at you with slight panic.

“Wait— you made the icing, Otsuka? I mean, the icing is fine, it’s just… I…” He’s desperately searching for words and you decide to help him out.

“He’s just lying, Heiwajima. Orihara and I made the cake and Nara made the icing.”

“Aw, you’re no fun, Chie-chan.”

Shizuo grits his teeth and throws his plastic fork to the ground, crushing it under his foot. You and Izaya take a step back; you because you don’t want any part of this and Izaya because he’s ready to make a getaway.

But what happens next surprises both you and Izaya.

Shizuo grabs Izaya by the front of his hair, and slams him facedown into the cake.

-

_“You’ve certainly got quite the victim complex, don’t you? And you wonder why little poor you doesn’t have any friends.”_

“Chie. Chie, we’re here.”

No… just a little bit longer.

_“Believe it or not, no one is out to get you. They just don’t want anything to do with you.”_

“Chie…”

Your dad gently shakes your shoulder and you experience the familiar feeling of vertigo as you jolt awake. You look over at him bleary eyed, and he gives you a sympathetic smile.

“I’m sure you can sleep on the train. You’ve just gotta hold on for about half an hour…” 

You barely remember getting in the car and eating breakfast this morning. You think you got about _maybe_ 3 hours of sleep last night? Like a toddler, you stayed up late, unable to sleep because you were so excited for the school trip. 

And now it was here!

You get out of the car, rubbing your eyes, and shut the door behind you with your foot. It’s 5:30 AM, and the sun is just starting to send its rays over the Ikebukuro skyline. It’s September, and there’s beginning to be a chill in the air in the mornings. You shiver, and your dad pops the back for you to drag your luggage out of the trunk.

Hm. 

You are certainly excited, but you can’t help but feel like you had some kind of stress dream, and it’s seriously undercutting your excitement.

“Thanks, dad.” You try to shake it off as you wave goodbye to your dad and heave your bag up the stone steps to the station. 

The station is filled with the Raijin uniform. You had no idea your second year class was so big; you guess you spend most of your time with Shizuo and Shinra, after all.

You stand on your toes to survey the crowd and pick out a familiar bleached blond head near the split flap display. You pull out the handle of your luggage and let it roll behind you as you make your way over to Shizuo.

“Heiwajima, good morning!” You greet chipperly, and he slowly turns to look at you. Ah, he isn’t quite at the same level of consciousness as you are yet. You guess it makes sense that Shizuo isn’t a morning person: he’s already grumpy to begin with. You honestly wouldn’t put it past him at this point to even send _you_ flying if you keep acting so chipper.

“Morning…” Shizuo yawns and looks back at the time table. “…boarding early.”

You come to his side and look up at the time table: looks like the train is boarding in about 5 minutes! Lucky!

“You can sleep on the train,” you suggest. “Use your jacket as a pillow.”

“Hmm…”

You don’t know if he really heard what you just said.

“Celty, I can carry it myself!! Give it back!” 

You turn to see Shinra and Celty approaching the two of you, Celty carrying what you assume is Shinra’s luggage over her shoulder.

“Celty, the man is supposed to— OOF!” Jab to the stomach. Nice one, Celty.

“Good morning, guys…” You say and peek at Shinra’s luggage over Celty’s shoulder. He sure is bringing a lot of stuff for a 3 night trip…

“Morning, Chie-chan…” Shinra groans, rubbing his stomach in pain. Celty puts her hands on her hips and shakes her head. Well, her helmet, you guess.

She takes out her PDA and taps out a message before showing it to you and Shizuo.

_Don’t let him get too crazy. I think he packed his whole surgical kit._

Well, you think. That might not be too outlandish of a decision on Shinra’s part with Izaya and Shizuo on this field trip. That being said, however, you haven’t spotted Izaya anywhere, which is a little odd considering he should stand out in a horde of the blue-green Raijin uniforms.

Shizuo still seems to be re-learning how to read, so you give Celty a reassuring smile. “We’ll do what we can.” 

Celty pats you on the shoulder in thanks, then she’s off. She does not accept Shinra’s goodbye hug, kiss, or coordinated dance number. 

“Celty is pretty cool.”

Well, that’s the first complete sentence Shizuo has produced this morning.

—

By the time you all make it on the train, Shizuo has regained consciousness and helps you load your luggage into the overhead compartment. You and Shizuo had lead the way as the three of you looked for your seats, Shizuo easily scaring off anyone in your path, and easily snagged the four seats facing each other near the bathroom. 

The two of you take the window seats, and Shinra wails as he takes his seat next to Shizuo. 

“It’s too early for your whining,” Shizuo groans, shoving his backpack under the seat. “The window is huge. You can clearly see it from where you are.”

“I was hoping for a romantic goodbye with Celty,” pouts Shinra. “Wave as she sends me off, like back in the war…”

“What war, Shinra?” You ask. “Which war were you in?”

“You know… The war.”

You laugh and unzip your backpack that’s sitting on your lap. Brushing aside your notebook and an other few extra items, you fish out a bag of Kasugai apple gummy candies. “You guys want any?” 

Shizuo just extends a hand and you give it to him after grabbing a couple for yourself. 

—

You feel like the gates go on forever. 

You’re alone, standing on a set of long stone stairs; you can’t see the end, and you can’t see the beginning either. 

There are red Torii gates lining the staircase, seemingly glowing in the moonlight. You can’t see anything around the stairs, darkness surrounding you on all sides.

You hear whispers in the dark, radiating from the gates.

You take a step forward and an ominous ring comes from where you stepped. You look down, lifting your foot in alarm and see that the stone appears to be glowing from where you stepped. 

Then, there is murmuring.

You slowly look up, the ringing from where you stepped fading, to see two figures further up the stone stairs, locked in conversation. But you can’t hear what they’re saying clearly, as if you’re submerged in water.

As you inch closer, your movements also slowed like you are attempting to walk underwater, the figures become clearer.

It’s Izaya and Nara; even though you’re right next to them, their voices sound like whispers. Nara doesn’t look too happy.

Izaya’s laugh suddenly crackles like lightning through the silence, causing a shiver to run down your spine like you’ve been electrocuted and Nara to tense up.

Nara turns towards you, taking a step to run down the stairs. But he misses— he trips, and begins to fall towards you. 

Instinctively, you put your arms out to catch him.

But he falls right through you, and you feel like you’ve been engulfed in ice water as you lock eyes with Izaya’s cold red ones.

—

You jolt awake, sweat running down the back of your neck.

“Otsuka, you okay?”

Shizuo is looking at you with a concerned expression on his face. You can only stare at him dumbly as you continue to reel from your dream. 

You focus back to reality: 

You’re still on the train. 

Shinra is snoring quietly with his chin in his hand in the seat next to Shizuo. 

Shizuo is staring at you with a curious expression on his face that looks like it might turn into serious concern pretty soon.

The light from the window is too bright.

Shizuo must see you wince at the bright light, cause he pulls the cord on his side and the curtain sweeps over the window. 

“…You have a bad dream?”

You pause for a moment longer.

“Yeah…” and you hesitate. “Yeah, just a nightmare. That was weird.”

You don’t remember any scene like that from the anime. Nara wasn’t even in the anime. 

You have a bad feeling about this.

That bad feeling shows on your face, and Shizuo frowns.

“Do you need water or something?” He inquires, and goes to pull his bag from under the seat.

“No, no, that’s ok.” You shake your head fervently, and slowly rise to your feet. “I just think I need a second.” Shizuo stops in his actions and watches you as you walk into the aisle.

“…Okay. If you’re sure.”

He doesn’t sound so sure. You don’t blame him, you’re not acting very okay. You give him a weak smile and enter the restroom.

Shizuo stares after you for a moment then rests back in his chair. He sits still for a moment longer before peeking behind the blinds to look out the window.

…He can’t seem to sit still.

He taps his foot impatiently, the seconds feeling like hours.

He turns back to look at the restroom door again when it slides open, and he quickly turns back forward like he hadn’t moved at all.

You come back and take your seat again, looking a lot better than before. You splashed cold water over your face while you were in the bathroom, took some deep breaths, and you’re already feeling a little better.

Shizuo is trying not to look at you expectantly and is failing miserably.

“I feel much better,” you offer, seemingly to nobody at all, and Shizuo eases up. 

“Good. That’s good,” a relieved smile overtakes his face and you can’t help but smile too.

—

“The site of Kinkaku-ji was originally a villa owned by a powerful statesman, until it was purchased by shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and transformed into what we know as Kinkaku-ji today. However, it was once burnt down in 1950 by a novice monk, Hayashi Yoken, and the original statue of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was lost in the flames…”

Shinra turns the page of the booklet and inhales to speak again.

“The name Kinkaku is derived from—“

“Shinra, shut the fuck up or I swear to _God_ , I will throw that booklet _and_ you into the pond.”

“It’s actually called the Kyoko-chi, the mirror pond.”

“Is that a rooster on the roof?” You say, and Shinra and Shizuo both turn to squint at the roof.

—

“Wow, the view is beautiful!” You place your hands on the balcony railing, and feel the cool autumn breeze blow through your hair. “The autumn leaves are so nice… I bet it’s beautiful in the spring, too.” 

Shizuo joins you and leans on the railing, admiring the view. “Yeah, it’s really nice.”

“… The popular expression, ‘to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu’, comes from an Edo-period tradition that held if one survived the 43 foot jump from this stage, your wish would be granted. 234 jumps were recorded during the Edo-period, and of those who jumped, 85.4% survived.” 

Shinra looks up from his guide book. 

“Chie-chan, you should give it a try! With your track record, you’ve got at least a 90% survival rate for sure!”

Shizuo slams the railing and you eye it in fear. If Shizuo was responsible for bringing down a thousand year old temple, you think you’d just give up.

—

You stare at the monkey.

The monkey stares back at you.

Shizuo and Shinra stare at you staring at the monkey.

You feel like you and the monkey reach some of mutual understanding and you both turn away, you with your eyes glimmering.

“That… was…” you hold your arms up high. “Amazing!!!” 

Shizuo grins at you and holds up his hand for a high five, which you _SLAM_ with all the force you can muster. 

“That was so cool! Really cool!” You’re beyond excited and you can barely contain yourself. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Shizuo says. “It looked pretty cool. And I got a picture.” You hold your hands to your mouth and peer closely at the picture Shizuo took on his flip phone.

It’s… kind of blurry, but it’s also a little charming. And he looks so proud of it.

You smile up at him. “Send it to me!”

Shizuo raises a hand to pat you on the head.

“The Japanese macaque is also known as the snow monkey, because no other non-human primate is more northern living or lives in a colder climate. The females will enter into consortships with an average of four males a season— Wow, that’s a lot!”

Shizuo changes directions and whacks Shinra on the head with a frightening amount of force.

—

You hop into your bed, roll onto your back, and heave a long sigh. After a 11 hour day of travel, sight-seeing, eating, and wrangling Shizuo, you’re pretty pooped. You’re about ready to pass out, but the girls who you’re sharing your room with have other ideas. 

They are unfortunately not Takeda or Kuchiki, who are sharing a room 3 doors down the hall from you in the hotel you’re all staying in, and they’re chatting up a storm. Apparently Fujiyama is planning on asking out Tachibana and it’s pretty hot news. You don’t even know if Tachibana or Fujiyama is one of the girls in the room.

…You also think Shinra mentioned something about you all getting together later and sneaking you into the boys room. You were planning on just falling asleep.

You stretch out your arm, trying to feel for your bag next to your bed. You’re pretty sure you shoved your earbuds in the topmost pocket, and Chie’s iPod had a pretty decent selection of songs to choose from. Despite your efforts, you are not Elastigirl, and you have to roll over to grab your bag.

“…think Nara just spent the whole day in the hotel room?”

You pause.

“You mean he came?? I was so sure he stayed home!”

“Nope, Izumi-chan saw him in the dining car all by himself when we went to get snacks… I didn’t even notice him!”

“Doesn’t he usually hang out with Orihara these days?”

“I don’t know. Orihara was sitting with Hideyoshi and those guys.” 

You’re suddenly back in your dream, standing on the stone steps, watching Nara fall silently down the stairs; you feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up again and you really don’t feel good about this.

Your phone buzzes, and you slowly turn over to grab it from next of your pillow. You missed a text from Shinra a few minutes ago:

[10:34 PM] _yooooo chie-chan come on over! shishio-sensei went out for a smoke and the coast is clear!_

[10:40 PM] _uh oh now shizuo is crying because you won’t come over. he is saying boo hohogoorg_

The text ends there.

You think you can imagine what happened.

You snap your phone shut and sit up to put on your shoes, electing to ignore the hair on the back of your neck for the time being.

“… So what are we doing tomorrow, anyway?”

“Ummm, think it’s Fushimi Inari Taisha, Nijo Castle, and Gion for dinner.”

“What’s so great about Fushimi Inari Taisha again?”

“It’s got all those gates and stuff.”

You finish tying your sneakers and look up. 

“Ohhh, yeah. I hope they don’t want us to walk up all the stairs…”

You quietly exit the room, phone gripped tightly in your hand. Fushimi Inari Taisha… That sounds too similar to what you saw in your dream to ignore.

You close your eyes and take a deep breath. 

It was just a dream. 

It was just a dream, but… Considering you also weren’t even from this world, the thought of a dream possibly being prophetic wasn’t too crazy to consider.

You just can’t shake the ice cold feeling that shot through your veins as Nara flew through you, possibly to his death. 

You open your eyes and look at your phone again. Shizuo and Shinra might just have to wait a little longer.

You zip up your jacket, still only in your school-issued sweats, and hurry down the hall towards the emergency exit.

—

The early autumn wind is chilly against your cheeks as you jog down the streets of Kyoto, a sightseeing map clenched tightly in your fist. 

You feel thankful to whoever planned your lodgings for this trip, as they took into consideration that the next day the first thing on your agenda was Fushimi Inari Taisha and chose a very close hotel.

You also feel thankful that Chie is much more athletic than you were in your past life and you keep a steady pace as you approach the first red gate. It’s much too late for any tourists, and the whole place is deserted.

_I’ll just check,_ you think. _There’s no harm in just seeing if they’re here. And if they’re not, I’ll go back._

You climb the first small set of stairs and pass between two statues of foxes who peer down at you with curious faces. Something feels wrong about entering a shrine so late at night; like you’re trespassing.

The path gets darker as you walk through the gates, the moonlight harder to see from the tree cover and the narrowly placed gates, until you have to open your phone and use the light as a flashlight.

You’re beginning to think that you really could have just gone to the boys rooms and seen if Izaya or Nara were there.

You almost stumble, and you turn your light to the ground. Here is where the stairs begin.

You begin your ascent.

—

You don’t know how long you’ve been on these stairs. You distantly remember someone saying that there were 12000 steps.

You’re now beginning to really think about how stupid you are.

Why would Izaya and Nara climb 12000 steps just to talk? In the middle of the night?

Most dreams are comprised of little random parts of your life, anyway: Izaya and Nara both go to your school and you probably knew you were going to Fushimi Inari Taisha in the back of your mind and just forgot about it.

You pop open your phone and see that it is now 11:45.

This is getting really stupid.

You’re about to turn back, when…

“You’ve certainly got quite the victim complex, don’t you? And you wonder why little poor you doesn’t have any friends.”

You’ve heard that before.

You squint ahead of you and see two figures, just like in your dream. You quickly and quietly shut your phone and stealthily hide behind one of the gate pillars, peeking out at the two figures.

It’s Izaya and Nara.

“What are you talking about…?! You said that people misunderstood me… you said that—“ 

Nara sounds quite distressed.

“I did say that, didn’t I?”

And Izaya sounds as cold as ever.

“Did it never occur to you that I was just telling you what you wanted to hear? No one understands you, you think. And because they don’t understand me, they persecute me… you think.”

There’s a pause.

“Yet you make no attempt to get them to understand you. You don’t reach out to anyone around you. You’re the one who pushed them away, because in fact, you actually think you’re better than all of them. You see what they don’t.”

There’s laughter playing on Izaya’s voice, despite the bluntness in his words. 

“But the truth is, you’re better than nobody and nobody is better than you. Believe it or not, nobody is out to get you. They just want nothing to do with you because of your miserable anddisgusting personality.”

You hear an inhale and a rush of air, quick steps, and laughter. It seems like Nara took a swing at Izaya and Izaya dodged, per usual.

“You wouldn’t be so angry if it wasn’t true, Nara-kun! You’re just weak. Nothing more, nothing less. Why did you think I wanted to spend time with you? I have no reason to! …Unless I had something to gain.”

Izaya is talking to Nara as if he’s scolding a naughty child, and you think he takes pleasure in monologuing his thought process to those who can’t get away.

“…S-something to gain?! What do you mean?”

“Oh, come now, Nara-kun!” Izaya chides. “With your father being who he is, you must know something about relationships based on material benefit…?”

There’s a long pause.

“So… what everyone said was true, then. You _do_ work for the yakuza! You were just after me because of my dad!”

“ _Again_ with the victim complex, Nara-kun. Then again, I guess it is your father’s fault you ended up in this situation… So cruel, so inconsiderate to you…” Izaya’s words are dripping with venom, yet honey sweet in his tone. It’s clear as day that he’s manipulating Nara like he’s a puppet on strings, and you don’t know how much more you can take of this.

“Just- stop it! Just, leave me alone!” 

Nara turns on his heel and you think you hear Izaya click his tongue. He made a misstep; you can’t see the older Izaya making the same mistakes. He would have lured Nara slower, and not have shoot his shot so early.

All thought goes out the window when you hear Nara miss a step and his breath catches in his throat.

This is your cue. This is the same thing you saw in the dream.

Suddenly, you’re out on the stairs as well, arms extended to catch Nara, and this time, he doesn’t fall right through you. Your eyes lock with Izaya’s wide ones for a fraction of a millisecond and then you’re tumbling down the stairs.

Your interference slows his fall considerably and the two of you roll to a slow stop about 5 stairs down from where you started. 

Well, you think this feels just a bit closer to what you should have experienced when you fell those 100 feet 6 months ago. Ouch. 

You slowly sit up, and so does Nara, who still seems to be in shock. Besides that, he seems to be mostly unharmed.

It is quiet, the only sound you and Nara’s breathing and some bugs chirping in the trees.

And then, there is a chuckle. And laughter.

“Well, well, well! This is certainly one thing I did not expect to happen! Chie-chan, what are you doing up so late? And to meet you under the gates of Fushimi Inari Taisha, no less.”

You slowly turn to face Izaya. He’s smiling like the cat who ate the canary, and you know you’ve messed up.

“You certainly didn’t follow us here.” He takes a step down. “And no one told you we were going here.”

He takes another step down.

“So very convenient that you’re here, isn’t it?”

You want to take a step backward, but something freezes you in place and Izaya is now standing one step above you.

“So, why _are_ you here?”

“I… I…” You can’t find words. There’s nothing you can think of, no reason you would be out here. And even if you could, Izaya would see right through it.

“Hm? Please, speak up. I’m sure the reason is _very_ interesting.”

You move to take a step backwards, turning down the stairs but Izaya grabs you tightly by the arm. You struggle when suddenly you’re blinded by a bright light shining directly in your eyes.

“Orihara, Otsuka…”

Shishio and another teacher you don’t recognize are climbing up the stairs towards you, clearly very winded. Nara is behind them: when did he leave?!

“Shishio-sensei…!” You exclaim and Izaya releases his hold on your arm, putting his hand back in his pocket.

“Listen, guys…” Shishio heaves a heavy sigh, trying to regain his breath. He steadies himself on one of the gates. “Romance or … whatever it is you’re doing out here is fine, just keep it to the hotel. Almost all the faculty is out looking for you…!”

Wait, _romance?_

_“_ No, this—“ you make an attempt to explain and Shishio cuts you off.

“I don’t really need to know about it. C’mon guys, we’re going back.”

You look at Izaya, who is playing innocent, and scoff before walking down the stairs towards Shishio.

As you all walk back, you feel Izaya’s eyes boring into the back of your head.

—

After what felt like an hour of you, Izaya, and Nara being lectured by teachers, you’re finally released and allowed to go to bed at 1 AM. You’d think they’d want to sleep and just do it tomorrow, but no. They’re all very, very mad that they had to up this late in the first place because of you three.

You turn to hurry back to your room, hopefully avoiding any more contact with Izaya, and walk straight into a wall.

_ Well, that’s embarrassing. _

_ Wait, this isn’t a wall.  _

You look up and two warm hands pull you back and steady you. 

“Oh, Chie-chan, you’re back!!”

Shizuo is holding you, and Shinra is by his side. Shizuo’s grip on you tightens, and you look behind you. 

Izaya gives Shizuo a patronizing smile, and passes by the three of you.

“Goodnight, you three.” 

“Night, Izaya-kun!” Shinra responds, and you watch him pass by.

“Getting awfully handsy, aren’t we, Shizu-chan?”

Shizuo’s hands fly off you at lightning speed with a surprised growl, and you think you see a stain of pink on his cheeks.

“Sleep well!”

Then the three of you are alone in the hallway.

Shinra looks back to you, while Shizuo appears to still be avoiding your gaze. “Where did you go! They said they found you and Izaya in a romantic rendezvous at Fushimi Inari Taisha…?”

“What?! No, no, it wasn’t…”

“…What were the two of you doing out there? What did he want with you?” Shizuo looks back at you.

“I…” You don’t really know, yourself. _Well, I just had a weird prophetic dream that Nara was going to die on the stairs of Fushimi Inari Taisha and I ran out and decided to see if it was real… Also, have I mentioned that I’m not actually Chie?_

_“.._ I just need to get some sleep.” You give the two of them what you hope is a reassuring smile and turn towards the girls rooms. “I’ll tell you guys about it all tomorrow, I’m just exhausted… They just lectured us for about an hour… I just want to sleep.”

“Okay…” Shinra says hesitantly, and you give the two of them a little wave before hurrying down the hall to your room, and they watch you disappear behind your door. 

“… I guess this means no pillow fight, huh.”

“Shut up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for your reference:
> 
> kinkaku-ji: https://www.japan-guide.com/g18/3908_top.jpg  
> kiyomizu-dera: https://www.travelcaffeine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/kiyomizudera-fall-illumination-foliage-night-kyoto-japan-664.jpg  
> arashiyama monkeys: https://www.japanrailpass.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/popular-Iwatayama-Monkey-Park-in-Arashiyama-Kyoto-Japan.-Tourist-enjoys-interaction-with-monkey.jpg  
> fushimi inari taisha: https://www.theworldisabook.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Fushimi-Inari-shrine-trail.jpg
> 
> i have never been to japan :( i just am good at reading wikipedia articles and i watched k-on


	4. Cultural Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is absolutely bonkers. just take it

Luckily, the rest of the class trip passes without incident. You give Shizuo and Shinra what must be a very confusing rendition of the story: you just happened to see Nara on your way to the bathroom and were concerned about him, so you followed him all the way up 6,000 steps without saying anything to him until he almost tripped and fell after meeting with Izaya.

Shinra and Shizuo seem doubtful, but you don’t think the real story makes much more sense than the one you fabricated.

You don’t see Nara for the rest of the school trip and hear from the gossiping girls in your room that his dad came and took him home. You don’t think you blame him.

You can’t help but feel regretful when Nara stops showing up to school entirely. You don’t really know what Nara’s own issues are, but if only whatever your dream showed you had showed you something a little earlier.

You guess it’s not really any of your business. In fact, if you had just minded your own business in the first place, you could have continued to sweep under (for the most part) Izaya’s radar. 

Since the confrontation at Fushimi Inari Taisha, you haven’t really seen or heard much from Izaya. Every so often, you two catch eyes between classes or after school and he just smiles at you in his patronizing way. You don’t know if he’s just biding his time or he is waiting for you to break. You think the best outcome would be if he actually didn’t think it was a big deal at all and decided to move on entirely.

While Izaya appears to be off your back for the time being, having strange, seemingly prophetic dreams has become much more frequent. Some of them are just flashes, minuscule events that end up happening the next day or later in the week. Some of them are exact sentences or even things like the entire menu for lunch that day. 

You prefer those. There’s been one recurring dream that strikes you as very similar to the one that preceded the Fushimi Inari Taisha incident that you don’t like at all. 

When you wake from the dream, you can hardly remember it. You don’t know if much at all happens in it: you’re surrounded by darkness, like in a cave. There is a faint rumbling coming from your left. The only sensation you feel is that your hands are wet.

You don’t know if you really want to remember more of the dream, considering how disconcerting it is. But you’d like to avoid that situation, so if it is one of these odd prophetic dreams you’ve been having, the more information you have, the better.

To put it simply, you’ve been quite preoccupied recently.

“… Okay, I see 10 hands for a haunted house.” Shishio turns around and writes tally on the board.“Let me see hands for a takoyaki stand?

The culture festival is in 3 weeks, and your class is voting on what your class should contribute.It’s already gotten considerably colder, and you’ve switched to the winter uniforms and opted for stockings instead of your usual knee socks. 

You don’t think you particularly care about what you do for the culture festival: you’re a little too preoccupied with everything that’s been going on recently to really care that much.

“Ok, that’s 4 for a takoyaki stand. How about for the maid & butler cafe?”

The class erupts with raised hands, which you contribute to, and it’s a victory in a clear landslide.

“Ok…” Shishio attempts to count but stops. “Ok, maid & butler cafe obviously wins.” He puts down the chalk and the class breaks into cheers, although you think you hear some disappointed groans. Most likely from the takoyaki voters.

A maid & butler cafe sounds like it’ll be fun, although pretty stereotypical for a high school anime. 

Shizuo isn’t in class today (most likely due to some kind of fight), but you kind of want to see him in a butler costume. It’ll be a little preview (kind of) for when he finally dons his iconic bartender outfit.

Through random lottery, the class determines who will be kitchen staff and who will be the glorious maids and butlers. 

“Oh! Chie-chan, we’re all servers!” Shinra points to the corner of the board, where the class rep has just put you, Shinra, and Shizuo under the maid and butler category. 

That’s fun, but you’re finding it difficult to stay engaged. In combination with all the things on your mind, the dreams have also made your sleep schedule quite irregular; you often wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep for hours on end. You give Shinra a short smile and look back to the board.

Shinra watches you in concern for a moment before turning back to the board.

-

“Hey, Chie-chan…” You’re putting your things away in your bag at the end of the school day when Shinra approaches your desk with a big smile on his face. “Celty is going to pick me up from school today, so I can’t walk home with you. Hope that’s okay, bye!” 

You can hardly respond before Shinra is practically skipping out the door. You laugh a little to yourself. That’s all it took to make Shinra feel like he was on the top of the world.

You start to make your way home, and try to focus. You’re always in your head recently… and it’s getting kind of exhausting. You wonder if it’s the curse of an anime protagonist to have a constant internal monologue; just once, you’d like to have no thoughts, head empty. You felt like that a good deal before you came here.

Thinking you’re an anime protagonist feels a little self centered for your tastes.But you don’t think all this shit would happen to a background character. Well, Durarara!! is a character-driven story with an ensemble cast, after all. You _could_ be one of the main characters.

A cold gust of wind shocks you out of your thoughts. 

You’re getting into your head again.

It’s getting into mid-November now, and it’s been particularly windy recently. You’re thankful for your stockings and thermal jacket, but they aren’t doing much against these frigid winds that blow right through you. You shove your hands deeper in your pockets, desperate for warmth, and hurry along.

You turn a corner into the more residential neighborhood where your house is when you hear someone call Chie’s name.

“Oh, Chie-chan! I didn’t know you took this way home too!"

Surprise, surprise.

Here he is again, always showing up unannounced and unwelcome.

Despite yourself, you stop and turn to look at him as he approaches you. You suppose he got you… you’ve been waiting too long for him to finally make his move and now he finally seems to be making it; maybe just letting it play out will alleviate your constant anxiety.

Izaya walks up to you, (clearly having been waiting down a side street for you arrive) with a thin dark jacket overtop of his usual uniform. He seems to be quite cold judging by the pink staining his nose, cheeks, and ears, but it doesn’t seem to be bothering him too much. You figure that the cold just shows more on him naturally due to his complexion. 

“Hello…” You greet him uncertainly and he gives you a wide grin. You feel like you could go feral at any moment and just run away on all fours. 

“Hi, Chie-chan. Shall we continue home?”

Well, he most likely already knows where you live, so no harm done there. The main risk you’re currently facing is a headache. 

You sigh and nod, turning back on your path. You match your pace from earlier, not driven just by the cold any longer. Izaya easily keeps up with you, and unfortunately, opens his mouth to speak.

“Well, you’ve become quite a troublemaker, haven’t you? Otsuka Chie sneaking out after dark… who would have thought? Taking after our Shizu-chan?”

Wow, Izaya isn’t wasting any time today. He takes a few hurried steps and easily comes out in front of you, walking backwards to face you. When you see his face, a chill goes down your spine; you feel like captured prey that a cat plays with before it eats.

“I won’t waste your time. I think there’s something odd about you, Otsuka Chie.” He stops you in your tracks. Despite Chie being the same height as Izaya, right now, you feel very very small.

“You see, what some might consider your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness. You’ve got quite the sense of responsibility, don’t you? Well, some might just call it overt self-righteousness.” You understand a little bit better how Nara felt the night you caught him with Izaya; you’re being patronized.

“Believe me. I know you don’t want anything to do with me… but you just can’t stop yourself, can you?” Izaya gives you a snide grin. “You try so hard to maintain the appearance of normalcy, but when push comes to shove… you show your hand.”

You don’t want to drive him into any more of a monologue than you inadvertently already have, but you can’t help yourself.

“What do you mean?”

His grin grows seemingly impossibly wider.

“Very very odd for a completely normal, healthy, happy girl to fly 100 feet to the ground and not receive a single scratch or bruise, isn’t it? A normal girl from the most normal family has zero contact with any of her old friends from Niigata, opting instead to befriend the most monstrous this school has to offer.”

You think he’s wrong about that last part.

But you do wonder about Chie’s old friends: she apparently had them, according to the photos that litter her room: but you have no way to contact them. No names, no phone numbers, addresses, nothing.

“And you’re certainly always in the right place at the right time.” Izaya steps closer, and the two of you are almost toe to toe, maybe half a foot between you. “Always in the right place at the right time, meddling in my plans… knowing things she has no business knowing.”

He’s talking about you tipping off Shizuo that Izaya was sending the thugs after him, you think. Just figures that he’d find out about that. Made sense for Shinra to figure that out, but for Chie who supposedly had zero knowledge of Izaya pre-attending school… quite a leap of logic. 

“If you were smart, you would have left Nara alone.” Izaya’s eyes flicker with something you can’t quite describe, and your breath hitches in your throat.“So, Chie-chan. What are you?” 

You don’t know if you’re quite sure what he’s asking. Izaya had an interest in the supernatural, didn’t he? Is he asking you if you’re some kind of creature, like Celty?

You can’t rightly answer. You don’t really know yourself. 

“This…” You have to clear your throat and find your voice again before you speak. “This all seems like a lot of conjecture on your part, Orihara…”

Izaya sighs impatiently and rolls his eyes, still smiling. 

“Chie, we both know you’re not an actress. Let’s skip the theatrics.”

You avoid his eyes and look to the street, searching for any kind of response. Maybe if you just told him the entire truth, Izaya would just come to the conclusion that you were actually just insane and give up. But somehow you don’t think that’s so likely. 

“Well, don’t worry about that for now.”

What?

“I have something more pressing I want to discuss with you. Come on, let’s keep going.”

Izaya starts walking again, and you’re left feeling like you just got hit with some extreme whiplash. You pause for a moment, and Izaya looks back at you, the ever-present smile still on his face.

“Keep up.”

You don’t think you can.

You fall into step beside him, and the two of you turn onto your street. 

“Whatever you are aside for the time being… I actually wanted to speak to you concerning that overwhelming sense of responsibility of yours.” You look up at him, confused. 

“You remember Nara, right?” Izaya says mockingly, and you have to restrain an eye-roll. He’s so obnoxious. 

“Yes…” you say and Izaya turns back to face the road. “Well, things aren’t going so well for our poor Nara, these days…” 

He sighs dramatically.

“A tortured existence, for sure.”

“Why are you still after him?” You ask, surprising yourself. “He dropped out; shouldn’t you just leave him alone?”

Izaya looks at you like you’re an impatient child and you hate it. You quiet down and let him get to the point.

“This ultimately has little to do with Nara’s victim complex,” he sighs, almost sounding disappointed. “He’s really just a bargaining chip in all of this…”

“But you’re right. I should leave him alone,” Izaya continues. “So that’s why I need someone who just can’t leave him alone.” His sharp eyes fall on you and you tense.

“Wh- what are you talking about?” You sputter. The two of you are now out front of your house, standing to the side of your gate. Izaya clearly does know this is your house, because he stopped in front of it. He’s leaning against your fence, keeping you from reaching your gate.

“You surely heard at least some of our conversation,” Izaya says. “Nara’s father has screwed himself and his family over by messing with the yakuza; I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s just say he has quite the gambling addiction.” 

You think you might know where he’s going with this and you feel the oh-so-familiar feeling of the hair on the back of your neck standing up.

“Seems to me that Nara is going to be in quite a dangerous situation pretty soon if the conflict doesn’t resolve itself...” 

So that’s what all that drivel about your “overwhelming sense of responsibility” and “self-righteousness” was ultimately about. Izaya is relying on the fact that you were unable to leave Nara alone before that when you hear he’s in danger, you will act again. 

You hate it, but he’s right.

“Nara won’t speak to me. That’s a non-starter. Seems to me he’ll speak to the person who saved him.” Izaya shrugs like the situation is easy and he’s asking you for a simple favor. 

You can’t think of anything to say and can only stare at him. There has to be a way out of this situation. 

Izaya watches you for a moment longer before taking his phone out of his pocket.

“It’s a lot to take in, I know…” He says in mock sympathy. “Take some time to think about it. Here’s my number.” You feel your phone buzz in your pocket, and you take it out to see a message from an unknown number. Figures he already has your number. 

[6:12 PM] _(o´_ ∀ _`o)_

You stare at it for a moment in irritation before Izaya speaks up again.

“But don’t take too long to think about it. Otherwise, who knows what could happen to Nara…?”

You feel a flash of rage and look up at him, ready to finally just let loose on him, but you’re interrupted by the sound of your front gate opening.

“Chie? Uh- Ugh, Shoyu!!” 

You can barely process what’s happening before you’re suddenly on the ground with a very wet face and Izaya is nowhere to be seen.

Shoyu, the family dog, has apparently tackled you to the ground with a surprisingly amount of force and is now excitedly licking your face. You think you heard Kanji’s voice…?

You sit up, holding Shoyu back by his head as he desperately wiggles to get closer to you. Attached to Shoyu’s leash is Kanji, who finally manages to get a hold on him and drag him off of you. 

“Thanks,” you manage, spitting some dog hair out of your mouth and giving Shoyu a playful shove, who responds by barking and hopping from side to side.

“Yeah…” Kanji grunts, looking up. “Who’s your friend?”

You look at Kanji for a second before following his gaze; Izaya is standing on top of your fence, trying very hard not to look bothered. He’s doing his best, but he certainly is eying Shoyu with a very strained smile on his face. 

“This your brother?” Izaya manages. You have to say, you admire his effort, but he’s on your last nerve today.

“He’s not my friend,” you say to Kanji. “I’m going inside.” You give Izaya a short nod before turning on your heel and entering the house.

Kanji looks at Izaya, who watches after you briefly before snapping his eyes back to Shoyu. 

There’s a beat of awkward silence before Kanji just goes on his way.

—

Remember when you said maybe finally having the long dreaded confrontation with Izaya would alleviate some of your anxiety?

Yeah, you were wrong.

So what do you do about it?

Some people might reach out to their friends for help. Or see a therapist.

As the last 7 months have proven, you’ve never been one for the reasonable choice.

Maybe that’s a side effect of being in Ikebukuro for too long.

You instead throw yourself into the cultural festival, telling Izaya you’ll tell him your decision once the festival is over.

You sew costumes, you test the menu, you paint signs. Your classmates are a little overwhelmed by your copious contribution, but hey, the less work they have to do, the better, right?

Shinra and Shizuo’s disappointed faces when you turn down their invitation to walk home together to stay late and work for the umpteenth guilts you for sure; it guilts you even more that an invitation was even deemed necessary. Typically, it just happens.

But the work is actually kind of therapeutic to you. The concentration that’s required to keep all your stitches in line keeps you focused and typically prevents your thoughts from wandering too far.

And when they do, despite your best efforts, wander, they go to Nara.

You feel bad for him. 

And you know Izaya is using that to get you to do what he wants.

Which makes you think about Izaya, and you eventually come to the conclusion that while you certainly pity him, he is by no means to be taken lightly.

Then you just feel bad for yourself for being in this stupid situation in the first place and pitying that stupid asshole.

“You should take a break.”

You’re so startled by the sudden voice that you slip in your stitching and manage to stab yourself in the pinky.

“Yeowch!!” You tear your hand back, waving it to alleviate the pain and stick your finger in your mouth. 

Shizuo comes over, looking sheepish. “Sorry,” he says. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No harm done…” You look at your finger, which is thankfully not bleeding. Blood on the maid uniforms is not the look you’re going for this season. 

You look at Shizuo, who is standing over your desk and looking at the sewing you’ve done so far. “What are you sneaking around for? Didn’t take you for the type…”

“I wasn’t sneaking. You’re just out of it.” Shizuo responds simply, pulling out the chair in front of yours, turns it around to face your desk, and sits down. 

You look at him momentarily before getting back to your sewing. “What are you doing here? I thought you and Shinra already went home.”

Shizuo leans and reaches over to his desk, pulling a notebook off the top. “Forgot this. Kasuka said he’s gonna tutor me tonight.”

You giggle a little.

“Where’s everyone else?” Shizuo looks around, scanning the various festival supplies littered around the classroom. “They ditch you?”

You shake your head. “No, I’m just staying late to work. I like it.”

Shizuo watches you while you sew. “You want help?”

“You can sew?”

“… Not really.” He averts his eyes.

It goes quiet between the two of you, the only noise the silent shuffle of fabric and the occasional footsteps in the hall from other students who stayed late to work on their projects.

Usually the silence between you and Shizuo is comfortable. But when you peek up to look at him, he looks oddly frustrated. 

“…Heiwajima?” You say gently.

“…Yeah?”

“Something wrong?”

“No.” He looks down at you sewing, then scratches the back of his neck. “Well…”

You wait patiently, but Shizuo does not possess your same virtues. He grumbles to himself and puts his head in his hands.

“…’s stupid.” he mumbles, and all you can do is stare at him in confusion. Shizuo sits up properly and looks you in the eyes, but seems not to have the nerve to hold your gaze because he looks away again.

“You’re avoiding Shinra and I.”

You stop sewing.

“And I get why you’d want to do that. Shinra’s fuckin’ annoying and I’m…” He can’t finish the sentence and sighs. “I… Look, if this is because I blew up at you during the Sports Festival, I get it. If you’re… scared, or whatever.”

You feel bad for Shizuo because it takes you a full 20 seconds to figure out what he’s even talking about. He was really thinking about that for this long? It obviously has been weighing on him heavily for quite a while, by the way his shoulders are sagging and the way he can’t even meet your gaze.

“No, that’s not it.” 

Shizuo looks up at you, very surprised.

“I…” You begin, mind swirling as you begin to try and construct some sort of reason for why you’ve been acting so oddly. 

A death in the family? 

You had been diagnosed with some kind of rare incurable disease? 

You…

Why did you keep lying? 

You look into Shizuo’s eyes that are filled with concern and self-doubt, and realize, _oh._ _This is someone who really cares about me. Someone who just wants to make things right._

It’s unfair to keep thinking of him as an obstacle or just a character in a story after the time you’ve spent together.

You can’t explain the whole story. You don’t even know the whole story.

But you can tell him part of it.

“I… had a weird dream, during the class trip.”

Shizuo looks at you, unsure where this is going and certainly taken off guard by this turn.

“I had a dream that Nara fell down the steps of the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine and died, and Izaya was there— and it felt real. It felt so real that I…” You inhale, too far to stop now. You look down at your knees and clench your eyes shut. “I had to see if it _was_ … real. So I went to the shrine that night and… it did happen.”

You open your eyes and look at Shizuo.

“Nara fell, and he would have died if I didn’t catch him…! And now I keep having these dreams where I see things before they happen, and—“

“You’re a real dumbass.” Shizuo cuts you off harshly.

_ Huh?  _

You gape like a fish as you stare at Shizuo in shock.

Shizuo holds the bridge of his nose and looks at you with exasperated eyes. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“… I thought you… would think…”

“Think what?” Shizuo says, getting irritated. “That you’re crazy? That we wouldn’t believe you?”

You stare at him.

“Shinra’s obsessed with a headless woman and I throw cars like they’re made of paper. If we wouldn’t believe you, who would?!”

For the first time in a long time, Shizuo has stunned you into silence. He heaves a sigh and crosses his arms, looking quite boyish. “Of course I believe you. Christ.”

“…Yeah.” You’re still in disbelief, but you manage a smile. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” 

Shizuo snorts. “Yeah, I am.”

“…But you’re a pretty big dumbass, too.”

“What?!” Shizuo turns to look at you, a dangerous grin inching onto his face.

“You heard what I said.” You shrug, leaning forward in your chair. “The Heiwajima I know is way too kind. I would never be scared of him.”

Shizuo immediately recoils, his ears going bright red. He turns away from you, probably trying to conceal the blush he knows he has. 

“… Shut up.”

You’re enjoying this a little too much. You decide to push a little more.

“He also gets the _redddddest_ ears when he gets embarrassed, and it’s way too cute to be scary!” You tease, and Shizuo looks at you in shock and confused rage.

“You—! You’ve got no room to talk, you little—” He reaches for your face, and for some reason, you don’t dodge in time.

You assume he meant to pull on your cheek, but his hand ends up caressing it instead.

Your breath catches in your throat and you freeze.

Shizuo seems to be compelled by the sameunconscious force that you are, because he doesn’t move either. 

He’s staring at you, and you’re staring at him.

Somehow everything feels slow, and you’re processing a great deal of information at once.

His big hand is rough and calloused, but it feels warm and comforting against your skin. 

His face is illuminated by the last bit of sun coming through the window, catching his golden blond hair in the light. 

His brown eyes are solely focused on you, and they’re soft; and you realize that this is the same way you’ve caught him looking at you sometimes when he thinks you’re not looking.

**_*BZZZZT*!_ **

Your phone buzzes on the table and the moment is over. Shizuo’s hand practically flies into the air and you almost fall out of your chair in your hurry to grab your phone, which almost crashes to the floor a few times.

“S-sorry!” You stutter, and you think you hear an incoherent grunt from Shizuo’s direction. Your face is very very hot, your hands are sweating bullets, and you struggle to get your phone open. 

Of course, it’s a text from Izaya.

[7:15 PM] _I hope you have your answer by tomorrow._

Ugh.

You snap your phone shut, and peek at Shizuo. He seems to be getting it back together, but the tips of his ears are still fire red. 

You’re simultaneously relieved and disappointed that the two of you were interrupted: relieved because you have no idea what you would have done next if… what you thought was about to happen happened, and disappointed because what you thought was about to happen didn’t happen!!

Shizuo locks eyes with you, and you both start to speak at the same time.

“Uh—“

“I—“

You both stop, guilty looks on your faces.

“Y-You go first.” You manage, pushing your hair behind your ear.

Shizuo opens his mouth, but no words come out. “…Uh.”

He takes a deep breath, and tries again. “…It’s late. Let’s go home.” 

You don’t think that’s what he was actually going to say, but you let it pass.

—

You check yourself in the mirror. God, you think you could look at yourself _all day_.

And you don’t even feel guilty or conceited; it’s not your body, after all. Chie has a cute and approachable charm to her, and most of her height is in her legs; needless to say, you’re rocking the maid skirt.You did a good job… the A-line cut suits her.

“Chie-chan! We need you out here!” Shinra calls, waving his arm wildly through the curtain, which you narrowly avoid. You peek out from behind the cloth to see a very busy classroom-turned-cafe.

You hop out, and Shinra gives you a once over and a thumbs up. “Looking good!”

You quickly return his thumbs up and rush to take orders, brushing by Shizuo’s arm. He looks … pretty good in the butler costume. Okay, he looks really good, but you can’t say that it felt like seeing him in anything brand new; it’s pretty bartender adjacent, after all. When he asked you how he looked earlier, all you could manage was a thumbs up.

You’re doing a lot of those today.

Meanwhile, Shizuo couldn’t even hold your eyes for more than a second without grunting something unintelligible and blushing. This combined with the events of yesterday was certainly packing a punch.

But overall, the day has gone pretty smoothly. 

You know it can’t possibly go so smoothly forever, and you sense Izaya’s arrival before he even enters the classroom. You don’t know if this is a side effect of your prophetic dreams or a bullshit detector that’s been honed over the past 7-8 months.

You approach the door, and lo and behold, Izaya enters.

Takeda looks at you and you have no choice but to do… _the thing._

“Welcome back, Master.” You bow. 

You’ve been doing it all day, but having to do it to Izaya… leaves a nasty taste in your mouth. And the shit-eating grin on his face is not helping.

“Thank you, Chie-chan…” He says in an overly formal tone, mocking you. “Will you be my maid this afternoon?”

You sigh. “Yes… I will.” Your act drops quickly as it appeared; you snatch a menu and lead him over to the closest table, tossing the menu down carelessly.

Izaya looks at you in amusement and takes his seat. “Wow, what lovely service.”

“What do you want to drink?” You don’t spare him a glance as you take out your notepad.

“Just water is fine.”

“Ice?”

“Sure.”

You turn on your heel and feel him watch you as you return to the kitchen. The mood in the cafe has quickly gone sour. Izaya’s sheer presence alone has brought down the atmosphere and Shizuo hardly restraining his anger across the room has scared many people out of the cafe altogether.

You return with Izaya’s water, and he pats the seat next to him, smiling up at you. “You should join me.” 

You sigh and refrain from rolling your eyes. “Orihara, I have to attend to other customers…” 

“Seems to me your customers have significantly decreased since I got here… due to a certain beast’s attitude.” You don’t have to look at Shizuo to know that he’s absolutely fuming right now.

You hesitate before eventually giving in and taking your seat. You won’t lie, it feels pretty nice to get to sit down after standing for 5 hours straight. 

“I don’t think I have much time to do this, so I’ll cut to the chase.” Oh, good. Only a half hour monologue this time. Izaya sips his water and places it back on the table gently. “Have you thought any more about my proposition?”

Looks like you can’t avoid this any longer.

“Nara is running out of time and your indecision isn’t helping…!” Izaya says in a teasing manner, leaning back in his chair. Yeah, he already knows he’s got you.

You know you’re going to regret this.

“Yes… I have made a decision.” Izaya perks up, excited to hear your response, despite already knowing what you’re going to say. “…I’ll help you. But I don’t really know what you want from me.”

“Great!” He claps his hands together and gives you a placid smile. “Don’t worry too much about it… You’ll know soon enough.”

“Do you need a refill?” A disgruntled voice growls out. 

Well, been a little while since you’ve been in this situation.

You and Izaya look up at Shizuo who is clenching a plastic water jug so tightly in his hand that it clearly is going to fall into tiny, tiny pieces as soon as he releases his grip. 

“Your water,” Shizuo repeats through his teeth. “Do you want more?”

Izaya blinks and laughs, and you think Shizuo might just snap the handle clean off the jug. He looks Shizuo up and down, his face breaking into a grin.

“Wow, Shizu-chan. Can’t say I expected it from a brute like you, but you suit the service industry… Maybe more than our cute little maid here.”

You’ve seen this before. 

You prepare for a repeat of the cake incident (which ended with Izaya stabbing Shizuo in the arm) when Shizuo flips the jug over and pours the water all over Izaya’s lap. Izaya, surprisingly, makes no attempt to dodge the liquid that is now pooling on his pants.

“…I take it back,” Izaya says through his teeth, and turns to give you a sickly sweet smile. “I’d much rather have Chie clean up my messes.”

You and Shizuo react almost simultaneously, and you swing your hand to give Izaya a big old slap across the face. You’ve had just about enough of this; Izaya can add sexual harassment to his ever growing list of trespasses against you.

Unfortunately, Izaya catches you with ease and tuts you like a child. 

“That wasn’t very nice.”

You grit your teeth and tear your wrist out of his grasp. His grin only grows wider.

“I-ZA-YA!”

“Well, that’s my cue! See you!” 

Izaya jumps out the window with Shizuo hot on his tail, and you oddly feel like it’s been a long time since this happened.


	5. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you may notice that there are now significantly less chapters than before!! dw, it's all still here: i just compiled all the arcs into individual chapters... hopefully they aren't too hefty now!
> 
> get ready for that holiday cheer + some tarot reading!
> 
> also, everyone please check out this wonderful fanart that kalliblast drew: https://i.imgur.com/CfrNWdD.png

“Ah… This season is so romantic!” Shinra admires the Christmas lights lining the city street. There are couples walking side by side, huddling together for warmth; and of course, the big Christmas tree the three of you pass by every day on the way home from school. Some shop is distantly playing a highly distorted “Last Christmas” by Wham!.

“I think this season is just a little too cold, if you ask me…” You huddle further into your jacket, sinking your hands as deep as they can go into your pockets, feeling remarkably like a turtle.

“It’s not too bad,” Shizuo says, looking at the Christmas tree as you pass by. “Could be worse.” You eye his light jacket with barely hidden contempt. Shizuo runs so hot that the literally in-the-negatives weather does not bother him. Meanwhile, you’ve got two layers on under your uniform and jacket and you're freezing.

“But don’t despair, you two…” Shinra continues, apparently oblivious to the fact that you and Shizuo were opting to ignore him by changing the subject. “Celty and I are throwing a Christmas party and all are welcome to partake in our love!!”

“That sounds weird.” Shizuo says.

“Yeah, I don’t know if I want to do _that._ ” You say, and Shizuo nods in agreement.

“The whole class is invited! We’ll exchange gifts! Eat Celty's homemade food in front of the Christmas tree!” No, Shinra is not oblivious to you and Shizuo’s reactions. He’s just opting to ignore them.

Usually, you’re a big fan of Christmas: you like snow, it’s fun to spend time with family and friends, and you enjoy giving (and receiving, of course!) gifts. 

But obviously… there’s been a lot more pressing things on your mind.

“The party will be on the 23rd around 4, so just show up with some presents!” You have a slight inkling that this party is being thrown solely by Shinra and Celty is just going to have to deal with a ton of teenagers in their apartment.

“… I have remedial lessons.” Shizuo says, shoving his hands in his pockets. “So I’ll be kind of late.” You and Shinra look at him with pitying eyes, but quickly turn away when he shoots you both a glare.

“4 works for me,” you say, and Shinra lights up. “Should I bring anything besides presents?”

“I’ll ask Celty and let you know! If you have any Christmas stuff… anything like that would be great!”

Despite the cold’s lack of impact on Shizuo, when he lifts a hand to rub under his nose, you notice his fingers are pretty red. 

Mittens might not be a bad present… Yeah, that’s a good idea! You can get a bunch of yarn and make a scarf or something for Shinra… Something for Celty, too, for her trouble.

Izaya’s face pops in your head and you have to restrain yourself from having a physical reaction. No, he was certainly not getting a present from you. You gave him the best present he could ever receive all year: putting up with his bullshit.

“Ok, sounds good to me!” You adjust your bag strap and wave goodbye to your boys as you reach your street. “See you guys tomorrow!”

Shizuo and Shinra wave goodbye, and you turn down your street. 

You hadn’t heard immediately from Izaya after the school festival, since final exams were the next week, hence Shizuo’s remedial lessons. You’re a little on edge recently, considering Izaya could reach out any day now. 

Well, when have you not been on edge the past 8 months?

You swing your gate open and hurry to your front door, ready to be warm. Stepping inside, you’re greeted by the wonderful warmth of your house’s heater and the smell of… fresh cookies? Mom, you shouldn’t have.

You’re sliding into your slippers when you notice an extra pair of shoes you don’t recognize next to Kanji’s. Did Kanji finally bring a friend home?

You’ve barely stepped into the hall when Chie’s mom slides out of the kitchen, looking frantic.

You step back in shock. “M-mom?! What?”

“Why didn’t you tell us?!” She grabs you by the arms and pulls you into the kitchen, which looks like it got hit with a tornado. Fresh cookies were in fact being baked, appearing to just have been taken out of the oven, but ingredients and used bowls were strewn across the counter.

“T-tell you what…?” Chie’s mom looks on edge, and you briefly entertain that this is some panic-driven cooking craze after finding out the girl that’s been living in her house for 8 months is not actually her daughter.

“That your boyfriend was coming over!”

_Huh…_

“I was a total mess when he walked in after Kanji! You have to give us a heads-up… The living room is so dusty…”

**_What?!_ **

“B-boyfriend?” You sputter.

“ _Such_ a nice boy. And so handsome!” She continues, with a distant look in her eyes and looking quite delighted. You have a bad feeling about this.

“Uh, mom, I…”

“Anyway!” She turns back to look at you and you jump. “Take these cookies and tea up to him! He’s been waiting for ages, what took you so long!” Chie’s mom slides the chocolate chip cookies on the plate at record speed and loads it onto a tray with a small pot of tea and two cups. 

She pushes the tray into your arms, and all you can do is hold on so it doesn’t crash to the ground. You haven’t even taken your jacket off yet. She shoo’s you away, and you back towards the stairs.

You start to head up the stairs, still feeling pretty dazed from that whole experience, when she speaks again.

“Oh, and Chie…”

You look over.

“Keep the door open an inch, will you?” She winks.

“Mom!” You groan, and rush up the rest of the way. That was so cringy; and if your supposed “boyfriend” is who you think it is…

Your door is already slightly ajar, and you nudge it open with your foot to see Orihara Izaya standing in your bedroom.

Of course.

He’s inspecting some of the things on your shelves, reading a book that you don’t think you noticed was even there: _“17 Things Every Girl Needs To Know About First Dates.”_

Chie? What did you need that for?

Izaya notices the door swinging open, and turns to look at you. “Welcome back! You’re home kind of late.” He slides the book back on the shelf.

“How could you say you’re my _boyfriend…”_ You moan and put the tray down on the table in the center of your room, sitting down. “I’m never going to hear the end of it.”

“Well,” Izaya shrugs. “After our romantic rendezvous in Kyoto, what was I supposed to think?” 

You roll your eyes and take a bite of one of the cookies. That’s really the only thing you’ve got going for you right now... they're actually really good despite their seemingly haphazard assembly.

Izaya sits down across from you and slides a small box across the table towards you.

It’s Chie’s tarot deck.

You look at the box then look at him. “Why don’t you give me a reading, Chie-chan? Maybe a love reading?” Izaya’s eyes glimmer in amusement, and he rests his chin in his hand.

You swallow your cookie and pull the box closer to you. You’ve played around with it a little bit in your own time; Chie’s inclination for star charts and tarot decks makes you think that the reason for your prophetic dreams stems from her, so you wanted to do a little more research in her interests. 

“I’m not very good,” you say. “I don’t think you want me to give you a reading; don’t tell me you only came here to harass me?”

“How cruel, Chie-chan! Is that what you think of me?” You stare at him and his grin grows. “It’s not why I’m here. But I think a reading could be fun.”

“I’m really not—“

He cuts you off.

“That doesn’t matter. The whole thing is based on personal interpretation anyway; if you’re thinking of a question, you’ll find a way to make the cards apply to you.”

Izaya is not letting up. You sigh, open the box, and pull out the guide book.

“Okay, but I’m not doing a love reading.” You flip through the book, looking for one that’s not too complicated. Izaya leans back, pleased that he got you to give in. One of the simple three card ones would be best… You don’t even _know_ what the Celtic cross or whatever does.

“…I’ll give you a mirror reading. An assessment of yourself.” You decide, pull out the deck, and slide it over to him. “You have to shuffle them.”

“An assessment? You’d better not let your personal bias come through in your reading… I do have _some_ flaws, you know.” Izaya takes the cards and starts shuffling them pretty fast. You get the impression this is not his first rodeo. You can just see him gambling in the back of some seedy bar with yakuza.

“Ok, now…” You check the book just in case. “Split them into three piles.”

Izaya does so and waits for your next instruction.

“Then draw three from one stack and lay them out side by side.” 

“Then what?” He looks up at you, kind of an excited boyishness in his eyes. It’s almost cute and you _quickly_ shake that train of thought out of your head.

“Um… So this one is your weaknesses, this is your strengths, and this is advice on yourself. So flip over… Weaknesses first.” 

Izaya flips it over and squints at the card. “The High Priestess. But it’s reversed.” 

You flip in your book until you get to the major arcana, and find the High Priestess. Number II. 

“… Okay.” You clear your throat. “The High Priestess is associated with ‘lack of center,’ ‘lost inner voice’, and ‘repressed feelings.’” 

You pause. Interesting. You hope this tarot reading doesn’t end with a knife in your throat.

“…’The High Priestess reversed calls for you to listen closely to what your inner self tells you… What parts of your unconscious are you denying? What is it trying to say’…?”

Izaya looks at the card, his smile not leaving his face. 

Uh, okay… “Um, next card is your strengths.”

Izaya flips the next card over, and you stifle laughter. That’s almost too predictable.

“The Devil, in the upright position.” Izaya announces, and looks up at you. You hurry to find the Devil in your book. Number XV. 

“Ok, so… ‘Excess,’ ‘Materialism,’ and ‘Playfulness.’ The Devil represents ‘the fears, obsessions, and insecurities that hold humanity back from reaching their true potential.’ It’s also associated with superficiality.” 

Izaya flips over the final card, and you feel the familiar sensation of the hairs on the back of your neck standing up like they do when one of your dreams come true. 

You do not feel good about this card.

“Death, in the upright position.” 

You rub the back of your neck, urging the hairs to lay flat. The card is almost whispering to you, and the blackness in the eyes of the skull make you shiver.

Izaya looks up at you impatiently, and you hurry to read the description. 

“…’End of a Cycle,’ ‘Beginnings,’ ‘Change,’ and ‘Metamorphosis… A cycle comes to a close, a radical transformation that requires a part of oneself to be sacrificed to be able to continue to the next plane. With loss, something new can begin. Death carries a scythe not just to destroy… but also sow the new harvest.’” 

You breathe a shaky sigh, still staring at the book. 

“Heh… hehehe… Hahahaha!” You look up slowly at Izaya, who is chuckling loudly to himself.

“Wow!” He picks up the card and looks at it closer, and the whispers you hear from the card are snuffed out like a candle the second he makes contact with it. 

“… I personally think this reading is pretty scary.” You remark.

“Why?” Izaya’s eyes scan over the card, appearing to inspect the artwork. “You know, another common three card reading is the past, present, and future of a situation… The future is typically interpreted as a possible outcome based on the past and present.”

“Yet death…” He places the card back down on the table. “Is inescapable. We are all equal before death.”

You think if Izaya knows this much about tarot cards, he should have just done his own reading.

“But death leads to rebirth, growth… and change. And I am ever changing.” Izaya eyes the card from a distance, now looking a little less amused. “Not all metamorphoses are successful, of course. Have you ever read Franz Kafka’s book, _Die Verwandlung_?”

You squint. Where is he going with this? Isn't that Metamorphosis?

“Transformed into a revolting insect…” Izaya sighs dramatically. “…and ultimately starving to death upon realizing that he is no longer wanted by anyone.”

“… I think you’re focusing on the wrong part of the reading.”

Izaya blinks, surprised at your unusual opposition. “Oh?” He grins. “What should I focus on, then?”

You eye him, and steel yourself before leaning over the cards. “Well…” They’re quiet now, but you still feel a distinct energy from them.

“With most of the three card readings, each of the cards are just a smaller part of the greater whole. Their meanings are determined by each other…”

You don’t really know what you’re saying; like you said earlier, you are by no means a tarot master. But based on what you do know…

“If Death is your “future” or your “advice,” you have to take the other cards… your “past” or “weaknesses,” in this case, into consideration.” You tap the High Priestess card.

“You can’t change if you ignore whatever your inner voice is saying. Your subconscious is trying to talk to you, and you’re blocking it out.” 

Izaya is eyeing you closely as you read the cards with an indiscernible look on his face.

“… When it comes to the Devil, which is apparently your strength… The superficiality of the card seems to be directly tied to your lack of connection to your inner voice. So maybe it’s not really a strength, but what you consider as your strength—“

“Didn’t I tell you not to let your personal biases bleed through your reading?”

You look up at Izaya, and while he’s smiling, there’s a dangerous glint in his eyes and a stiff smile on his face.

“I—“

“This has already gone on too long…” He sighs, and sweeps the cards off the table with his arm. “I’m bored enough.”

…What a brat.

The one time _you_ try to monologue, he ruins it.

You move to gather up the cards, and Izaya holds up a hand to stop you.

“Let’s get to the real reason I’m here. It’s time to talk business.”

You move back into your seated position, internally cursing him. He shows up uninvited, demands a reading, then makes a mess of your room when he doesn’t like the reading. Asshole.

“Here’s the situation.” Izaya folds his hands on the table, and you feel like you see a flash of him in 5 years at his desk in apartment, running Ikebukuro into the ground.

“Nara’s father, Nara Kouichi, is CEO of a large box company known as Box2. Recently, the company has been involved in some seedy dealings with the Matsuda-kai, a yakuza syndicate… During these dealings, Mr. Kouichi participated in some less than legal gambling with some members of the same syndicate.”

He takes a sip of his tea and continues.

“Mr. Kouichi isn’t a very skilled gambler, I’m afraid. Not able to afford the losses he sustained, he stole about, say, 2 million yen from the syndicate.”

You swallow.

“I require some information that Nara has access to as Kouichi’s son. If he can get me that information, I can swing it so the Matsuda-kai will no longer pose any sort of risk to Nara and his family.”

He leans forward and smiles with a devious glint in his eyes.

“That’s where you come in. I want you to meet with Nara in the next week under the guise of an apology for everything that went wrong or something similar… Get him comfortable, have him open up… then I’ll make my entrance and offer the deal.”

You stare at Izaya, really unsure of how to respond to all that you just took in. 

“I’m thinking the 23rd for our meeting… Around 3:00 PM. Does that work?”

You gulp.

“… Do I have a choice?”

Izaya grins. 

“Not really.”

—

You arrange to meet with Nara at a Mister Donut near the west station entrance. You thought you’d have more trouble convincing him to see you, considering he didn’t have your number, but he agreed pretty easily.

Maybe he just likes donuts.

Izaya told you to show up around 2:30, and he would be somewhere nearby waiting for your text.

Since you won’t have enough time to go home and change before Shinra’s party, you’re dressed up nicer than usual. Just a nice sweater, tights, skirt and a bit of makeup, but nothing crazy. You hope it doesn’t alarm Nara.

You’ve also got to lug your party supplies and presents along with you.

“…Otsuka-san?”

You jump and look up to see Nara nervously peering down at you, still about 4 feet away. 

“N-Nara-kun! Hey, take a seat…” You awkwardly gesture to the seat across from you, and Nara timidly takes his seat.

A tense silence falls over the two of you.

“Um… Did you order anything? I can get you a coffee for your trouble…” You smile awkwardly, but Nara just shakes his head.

“No… That’s okay, I’m not that hungry.”

There is silence once more.

“So…” you begin. “I just wanted to apologize for the way things ended. I mean, I know it’s not… exactly my fault, but I just felt so badly about everything that happened that I wanted to talk with you and make sure things were ok…?”

Nara looks down.

“Things are… tough. I’m not going to school right now.”

You nod.

“… I’m probably going to change schools, and I’m going to have to redo the year…”

“Oh…” You offer lamely.  Why did Izaya choose _you_ to do this?! You’re the worst actress, he knows that!

“Well… we all miss you at school!” You attempt.

Nara looks up, confused.

“Who does?”

…That’s right. He didn’t have any friends.

“You know… everyone…?”

Nara doesn’t appear to be convinced. You sip your latte anxiously. 

“Otsuka…” You look up at him. “I actually… wanted to thank you.”

You blink.

“I… still don’t really know why you were there, but… you caught me. Saved me.” He looks up at you, gratitude in his eyes. “Thank you. I just… wanted to make sure I said that.”

You inhale a shaky breath. 

That day, as far as you were concerned, had caused you nothing but trouble. Wrapped you up in this whole mess, and it had been a struggle ever since.

The fact that Nara, the main reason you did it in the first place, was thankful… helped make up for it a little bit.

“… You’re welcome.” You smile, and Nara manages a little smile back.

You see Izaya approaching from behind Nara, and your face drains of color.

Nara looks at you, clearly confused by your dramatic change in expression, and turns to see what you’re looking at.

“Hi, Nara-kun! Chie-chan! Here for the donuts?”

You mentally facepalm and Nara is speechless, apparently unable to conceive that Izaya would be here and now.

Izaya pulls out a chair on your side and sits next to you. You think you unconsciously scoot the other direction.

Nara scoots backwards, clearly getting ready to make a getaway.

“Hold on a second, Nara-kun. At least hear what I have to say… Chie came all the way out here, after all.” Izaya’s sick smirk grows on his face, and you break into a cold sweat.

Nara eyes shift from Izaya to you, his expression turning from shocked to dismayed. You avoid his gaze, the guilt a little too much to take.

When you peek back, he’s hanging his head, just resigned to this unfortunate fate.

“All settled in? Great.” Izaya leans back in his chair and stretches out his legs. “I wanted to finish the conversation we were having before you took your little tumble down the stairs…”

You turn to look at Izaya now.

“I know all about your father and his situation with the Matsuda-kai. Do you know how I know that?”

Nara peeks up at Izaya.

“…Because you work for them?” He offers dejectedly.

“I work _with_ them.” Izaya corrects. “Anyway, the solution to your family’s troubles is actually quite simple. The Matsuda-kai is willing to call it even if you just return the funds your father has stolen so far.”

By the way Nara flinches, you can tell that’s not a possibility. 

“Don’t tell me…” Izaya says in mock dismay. “You spent it all already? That was 2 million yen!”

You cringe.

Nara jumps up and slams his hand on the table, attracting the attention of a few fellow Mister Donut costumers nearby. 

“S… Shut up! Did you just drag me out here to laugh at me?!”

Izaya shakes his head. “No, no. Sit back down and let me finish, will you?” 

Nara hesitates and slowly sits back down, still tense.

“I can make it all go away…” Izaya says gently, surprising both you and Nara. “You just have to do something for me.” 

He slides a small usb drive across the table. “You can get into your father’s email, right? I just need you to load his entire email history onto this drive…”

“…W-Why?” 

“Well.” Izaya leans back. “After your father’s shady dealings recently, there are—“

“No,” Nara interrupts. “Why would you do that for me? All— All you’ve done is torment me…!” 

Izaya blinks, then smiles. 

“Let’s call it a peace offering. I _do_ regret what happened between us, you know.”

A chill runs down your spine. How can he just lie so easily?

Nara still seems unsure, but you relate to how he feels; he’s been backed into a corner by Izaya, and he’s not really seeing any better options.

“Okay…” Nara says, and Izaya lights up in a grin. “But I can’t get them to you till February… It’s all on his laptop and he won’t be back from his business trip til mid Feburary.”

Business trip? What business trip could this guy be on?

“Great. Then I’ll see you in February, Nara-kun.” Nara nervously stands up, avoiding both you and Izaya’s eyes. You don’t particularly want to look at him either; you still feel really bad for luring him out here, especially after his thank you. 

He hesitates for only a second longer before leaving, and you release a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

You turn to face Izaya, who is tapping away at something on his phone and smirking.

“… I guess that went well?” You sigh, pulling your jacket off the back of your chair.

Izaya taps a final button and snaps his phone shut. “Yep. Sure did…” He looks at you and grins. “There’s more to it, but I don’t think it’s quite as fun if you know everything from the start… Sorry, Chie-chan, but I’ll catch you up to speed later.” 

You don’t really know if you want to know the whole story. And who knows, maybe you’ll just end up seeing it in a dream or whatever anyway.

You stand up, pull your jacket on, and pick up your bags. 

“Well, if that’s everything, I gotta go.” You sigh. “I—“

“Wait!” Izaya is looking up at you, hurriedly gathering his things. “Are you going to Shinra’s Christmas party?”

You freeze. What’s the right answer here? 

“Uh… I’m…”

“Perfect.” Izaya grins, stands up, and pushes his chair in. “Let’s go together.”

… You don’t think you really have a choice. 

… You also wonder if he’s picking up on your very unfortunately growing soft spot for him and using it to his advantage.

“…Okay.”

Izaya smiles even wider, and holds the door for you on your way out.

—

You arrive at 4:15PM, and Shinra throws the door open, a big grin on his face.

“Chie-chan! You’re here—“

Shinra’s grin drops from his face.

“… And Izaya-kun?!” 

“Hi, Shinra.” Izaya greets, holding up a hand in a smug wave. “Sorry, but I didn’t bring any presents…” 

“Uh… That’s fine, I just… didn’t think you were coming, or with Chie…” Shinra blinks and adjusts his glasses, still seemingly unable to process what he’s seeing.

You finally get fed up with the stare down and slide past Shinra into his apartment. “Yes, yes, very weird. Let me put down my presents!!”

Celty and Shinra’s apartment is decked out: There’s tinsel lining the walls, mini elves on the shelf, little Santas all over, and quite the large Christmas tree in the corner of the room, surrounded by the couches.

You look around in awe as you approach the Christmas tree and drop your gifts down. You brought two: just as you planned, mittens for Shizuo and a scarf for Shinra. You used the same maroon yarn for both of them. You just hope they don’t mind matching…

“…You really went all out, huh…”

“Oh, Chie-chan is here!!”

“Chie-chan!”

You turn around to see Kadota, Togusa, Erika, and Walker in the kitchen with Celty, apparently helping her prepare some snacks for the party. You… don’t know how to assess any of their skills in the kitchen from just looking at them, and privately pray that it will be edible. 

“Hi, guys!” You wave, shrugging your jacket off and placing it on the back of one of the dining room chairs. 

“Oh my gosh…” Erika places a hand on her chest, as if she was just seized by something inexplicable. “Chie-chan is just the most wonderful girl next door character…”

“Right? Right?” Walker agrees. “To see her dressed up just puts her in an entirely different light, changing the main character’s perception of her forever! Oh, Fuuka-chan…! Winry…!” He and Erika raise fists to the ceiling, seemingly blinded by your beauty.

“…Thank you…?” 

Izaya and Shinra finally return from the entranceway, and everyone in the kitchen has some kind of visible reaction.

“Izaya…?! You know Shizuo is coming later, right?” Kadota says, looking around the room, scanning for all potentially breakable objects. You relate to Kadota in this moment: Shizuo and Izaya have you trained; anything that could go wrong… _will_ go wrong when they’re around.

“That’s fine.” Izaya says breezily, sliding onto one of the couches. “Where’s the music? Isn’t this a party?”

Izaya starts fiddling with the cd player on the table, and you decide to make yourself scarce.

—

“…Izaya?!”

Shizuo is holding Shinra’s doorknob in a vice grip, face red from the cold, looking seconds away from snapping into a blind rage.

The rest of you are gathered in the living room, where you were snacking on some KFC (you ended up making the executive decision after seeing Celty attempt to add some natto to the celery), staring back at Shizuo.

“Yes, Shizu-chan?” Izaya says, and Shizuo releases the doorknob from his grip and stomps over.

“What are you doing here?!”

“I’m eating some chicken?”

Shizuo stomps.

“You know what I fucking mean! Shinra, you invited this asshole?!” 

Shinra takes another piece of chicken from the bucket. “Nope!”

“You know what!” You stand up. “Now that everyone’s here, why don’t we open presents!”

“Great idea,” says Kadota. “Togusa, here.” He tosses a poorly wrapped brown package into Togusa’s lap. Shizuo scoffs and takes a seat next to Kadota.

“Whoa-“ Togusa has to swallow his food before answering. “Thanks, man!” He tears into it and holds it up.

“Dude…” He looks seconds away from bursting into tears. “Ruri Hijiribe’s… debut CD!!! You’re the best!” 

“Ooookay.” Kadota narrowly misses a bone-crushing hug from Togusa. “Someone else go next.”

You see Shinra’s eyes go to the poorly hidden, giant wrapped present behind the Christmas tree…. You’re not sure if Shizuo will make it through that whole show, if his loudly tapping foot is any indication. 

“Well…” Shinra starts and you narrowly cut him off, practically diving for the present under the tree.

“I’ve got a present for Heiwajima!!” 

Shinra pouts and Shizuo blinks, temporarily broken out of his rage. “For me?”

“No, the other Heiwajima Shizuo we invited that Chie loves so much.” Izaya says, rolling his eyes.

“You—“ 

“Here’s the present!!” You shove it into his arms, and Shizuo surprisingly falls back a little onto the couch from your force. “Open it!”

“Yeah, okay, geez…” Though he sounds annoyed, he’s smiling as he reaches into the gift bag and rustles past the tissue paper. He pulls out the mittens, and Walter and Erika gasp. 

“A… A handmade item!!”

“Chie-chan is on fire today!”

Shizuo turns them over in his hand, marveling at them, and looks at you with a smile. “You made these…?”

You nod and can’t help but blush a little. “Yeah… I hope the color is okay.”

“The color is great… They look really warm.”

“Chie-chan, did you get me a present?” Izaya says, smiling but looking a little bitter. But maybe you’re imagining it. 

You and Shizuo ignore Izaya, and Shizuo slips the mittens on.

“Yeah, these are really comfy.”

“Great, I’m glad they fit! You have pretty big hands, but I didn’t want them to be too large…”

“They look stupid.” 

Everyone takes a little scoot back in their seats, and Shizuo turns to Izaya with a dangerous glare.

“What did you say, flea?” He growls.

“You heard me! Your monstrous hands look like big lobster claws with those mittens on.” Izaya shrugs as it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Shizuo looks like he’s about to fly off the handle, then surprisingly, settles.

“…Yeah, well, at least I got presents. Someone else go next.” 

Izaya narrows his eyes, and Shizuo leans back on the couch.

“… You know, they did look a little too big for your hands. Maybe we should tailor them a bit—“

You see a flash of silver from Izaya’s sleeve, and you’re suddenly on your feet again.

“You know what, actually, I did get you a present, Orihara!!!!!”

Everyone, including Izaya, turns to look at you in shock.

“Yep! Uh, here it is!” You snag Shinra’s present from under the tree, stealthily rip the name tag off, and throw it in Izaya’s general direction. 

Izaya catches it right before it hits his face, the surprised look still on his face.

Shizuo squints at the bag in his hands, obviously noticing that it’s bigger than the bag he received.

Izaya reaches in and pulls out a long maroon scarf with little pom-poms on the end. Well, you did make it imagining Shinra would wear it.

Izaya’s shock turns into a smug grin, and he quickly wraps the scarf around his neck. “Wow… really pulled out the stops for me, Chie-chan!”

Yeah, this was a mistake.

“Yeah, whatever. Let’s just get on with the presents.” Shizuo growls. “Who next?”

“Expended much more yarn on my present than on Shizu-chan’s nasty mittens…” Izaya brags, exaggeratedly stroking the scarf as if it was made out precious silk.

“…Oh yeah…?” Shizuo slowly turns back to face Izaya.

Say what you want about Izaya, but Shizuo certainly was willing to take just about any bait he gave him to get pissed at Izaya.

“Yep… Look at those lumpy things.” Izaya points at Shizuo’s hands with distaste. “She probably made those with the left over scraps from the scarf.”

“Oh yeah?!” Shizuo stands up, and you notice that everyone else has retreated behind the couch with the bucket of chicken, watching intensely. “Well, it’s probably way more complex to make some mittens than some shitty scarf!”

You like how they’re actually both simultaneously insulting your work.

You pleadingly look at Kadota, and he shakes his head. You did this to yourself.

Izaya is standing up slowly off the couch, his grin growing. “I think you just don’t want to admit Chie likes me more than you; Did you know we were on a date just before this?” It’s remarkable how childish they both get when the other is around. 

Everyone turns to look at you.

“A date…?” Shizuo says, looking very confused.

“Uh, no, that’s not true.” You say, holding up a hand. “We just ran into each other.”

Shizuo looks slightly calmed before he seemingly remembers Izaya is still there. He grits his teeth and seizes the Christmas tree with both hands, lifting it like a bat.

“You _fucking asshole_ ….!” Shizuo roars, and swings the tree. 

Erika and Walker scream, Kadota and Togusa jump back, Shinra laughs, Celty shakes her head, Izaya ducks, and you get whacked across the face and knocked over the back of the couch with a Christmas tree.

“Chie-chan!!”

“Chie!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i use the golden thread tarot app to do my readings: i only have a recreational interest in it, so if this is wildly inaccurate..... well, chie sucks at tarot reading anyway LOL


	6. New Years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is very short and it is not very sweet :(

The first sunrise of the new year. 

You pull your blanket tighter around your shoulders, it hanging over you like a little fluffy cape. You snuck downstairs to watch the sun peek out over the horizon: you have a decent view from your front yard.

To say this year had been a long one would be an understatement.

It had been 9 long months since you entered this familiar yet unfamiliar world, propelled through the auditorium ceiling with absolutely no warning or explanation.

Far from your home, family, and friends, you were left to your own devices to figure out what had happened to you. And 9 months later, you were no closer to figuring out what had happened to Chie… or what had happened to you.

When you first got here, you felt disassociated from the world around you. The fact that where you came from, everything that happened here wasn’t real. The people you knew were characters, two-dimensional creations playing their parts.

But over these 9 long months, you had become close with some of those same characters; even closer than with some of the people you knew back in your own world.

They were odd, that was for sure. Flawed, disjointed, and strange… Troublesome, impulsive, and violent.

Yet you loved them all the same. 

The first night you arrived, you shut your eyes tight and prayed that you would wake up in your own bed the next morning.

When you went to bed last night, Chie’s bed was a familiar safe haven that kept you safe.

You like it here. While you would like to find your way home eventually and let Chie have her body back, it’s no longer your first priority. 

…

You miss your friends. 

The winter holidays have made it harder to spend time with Shizuo and Shinra, and you’ve also unfortunately had to put them on the back burner again. 

You sadly rejected Shinra’s invitation to visit the shrine with him and Shizuo. It’s not that you don’t want to go, but…

...You know Izaya must be up to no good. Whatever he wants from Nara can’t be so simple that Izaya could just make his father’s debt disappear like nothing.

And that dream…

The dark cave, the distant rumbling, your wet hands. 

The whispering from the Death card.

You know it has to all mean something. It has to.

Shinra and Shizuo will just have to wait a little longer. There has to be something you can do to help.

But you also know Shizuo is not very patient. You think back to the evening in the classroom and the way he looked at you, and the way his hand felt against your cheek.

The way his face went bright red.

You promise to yourself that you won’t let it end like this. In the new year, everything will go back to normal…

It has to.

—

You walk up the stairs, careful to keep your steps soft. It’s 5 AM; you don’t think anyone else is awake yet, and you don’t want to get yelled at by Chie’s mom.

You slide on your socks down the hallway to your room in order to keep as quiet as possible, and turn your doorknob slowly to lessen the noise.

Stepping into your room, you rest a hand against the door and carefully close the door behind you.

“Chie.”

You almost scream and you whip around to look at wherever the voice came from.

Chie’s mom is sitting on your bed, still in her nightgown. She looks like she’s been up for a while, so you heave a sigh of relief.

The voice had been undeniably female, but with Izaya’s tendency to show up unannounced… 

“What are you doing up?” You whisper, and come over to her on the bed. She smiles up at you and holds up a cup of tea.

“I woke up earlier and heard you walking around… thought you might like one of these?”

You smile, take the cup from her hands, and sit down next to her.

“Welcome to the new year.” She says, and the two of you share a very delicate cheers.

You’re just sitting and enjoying the peace and quiet with Chie’s mom when she speaks up softly.

“I’m… glad that moving to Ikebukuro worked out for us.”

You turn to look at her and she smiles at you softly.

“It seems like you’ve been adjusting well. With your boys.”

You smile and gaze down into your tea.

“I have to confess, I was worried…” She muses, taking a sip from her mug. “After all the trouble at the end of last year… My, this time last year was when we knew your father had to transfer.”

You pause, frowning at your reflection in your tea. What?

“… Can you say more about that?” You attempt, trying to seem aloof.

“Well… It just seems much more peaceful for you here.”

Are you sure about that, Chie’s mom?

“You have friends… a support system… A boyfriend! I have to say though, I always thought you would end up with Shizuo-kun.”

This is going nowhere fast.

“But honey…” She places a hand on your shoulder. “You haven’t mentioned any of your visions for almost a year now…And I think that’s wonderful.”

You blink, doing your best to appear unbothered, and take another sip of your tea.

The doorbell rings and your mom jumps up. “Oh no, that must be Hiromi! She and I agreed to do the shrine visit together… I need to go get ready!!” She places her tea cup on your desk and rushes out of your room.

…

So Chie is the connection to the visions. And she stopped getting them around the time that you arrived… or when she arrived in Ikebukuro. 

It’s been going on for a while… and apparently Chie had a great deal of trouble in Niigata before she left. Is that why you never hear from her supposed friends?

You feel like you have more questions than answers; although you returned to your room to go back to sleep, you feel more wide awake than ever.

—

Around a week later, you’re abruptly woken from a dream by a pounding on your bedroom door. You jolt up, a piece of paper from your work table sticking to your face.

Something really important was about to happen… what was it?

Your eyes shoot to the clock on your desk and see it’s around 4PM. You must have passed out for a little while…

“What is it?” You call and pull the piece of paper off your face, assuming it’s Kanji or someone telling you that your laundry is done or it’s time for dinner.

The door slowly opens, and no, it’s not Kanji.

It’s _Heiwajima Shizuo_ standing in your doorway.

Your jaw drops.

“Hi.” He says, and takes a step into your room. You snap out of your shock and realize you are in a dirty t-shirt, short shorts, and no bra.

“Uhhhhh….. hi?” You stutter out, and start furiously patting your hair down, pulling your shorts a bit lower down your legs, and cross your arms. That should work for now.

This isn’t the first time Shizuo has been in your room, but you had no idea he was coming over: did Chie’s mom just let him in?!

Shizuo tosses his jacket on the back of your desk chair and takes a seat on your bed, but sits on one of the papers you have strewn across your room. He pulls it out from under him to look at it, and you’re immediately across the room snatching it out of his hands.

“Uh, that’s just… some…!”

You’re too late. Shizuo looks at you warily and picks up another one of the papers, scanning it. You weakly reach out but Shizuo has already seen what’s on it.

“… _Matsuda-kai?_ ” He mutters. “What’s this all about?” 

You curse the technology from 2005. If this was modern day, you could keep all your research on your own laptop: but no, you’ve got to share the family computer and print out the work you’ve been doing to keep it to yourself.

“…Isn’t this yakuza? What are you doing?” Shizuo holds up the paper to you, and you hang your head in guilt. 

“Does this have something to do with the flea?”

You flinch. Shizuo occasionally had remarkable insight, especially when it came to Izaya. You were going to explain, you were. But after it was all over, because otherwise Shizuo was going to lose his mind. 

You sigh and relax your body. “…Yeah. But don’t freak out, okay? It has to do with—“

“That son of a bitch is getting you involved with _yakuza?!”_ Shizuo’s voice is slightly above normal speaking volume now, and he’s clenched the piece of paper tightly in his fist. You put out a hand to settle him. He is totally freaking out.

“No, I agreed because Nara is involved! I had a dream that—“

Shizuo jumps to his feet and starts pacing, crushing the papers that line your floor underneath his feet.

“It doesn’t matter. That fucking asshole has _something_ planned…!” Shizuo turns to look at you, and you immediately know it's too late to calm him. He’s already past enraged. “And he’s dragged you into it!” He storms up to you, and you take a step back to give him some room.

He’s breathing heavily, staring down at your face and searching for a response. He’s got a million questions and you don’t think it’ll really matter what you say now.

“… Why did you come over?” You say, and avert your eyes.

“Why did I— Just, you— _Gah!!_ “ Shizuo turns away and shouts in frustration. “You always do that— you try and lie… or, or change the subject! You don’t talk to Shinra or me!” He clenches his fists. “Are you asking because you really don’t fucking know why I’m here?!”

Your emotions are already running high, and this is the only time you’ve really been on the other side of Shizuo’s anger like this. 

“You aren’t even _listening_ to me!” You shout, surprised at your own outburst. “You, and everyone else, you always act and do whatever you want without even taking me into consideration!”

Shizuo turns around to look at you, the anger not leaving his eyes.

“I can’t listen to you because you don’t fucking talk to me!” He growls out, towering over you. “I tried to fucking listen to you in the classroom and you just shut me out after that!”

You gasp and take a step back, and you feel the tightness growing in your chest and tears welling up in your eyes. You look down to hide your face… This is just too much. Your head is buzzing and your eyes are blurry from your tears.

Shizuo, as usual, softens just a tad when he sees your reaction, and goes to speak again.

It’s all so much.

“… Why do you have to get so angry all the time…?” You say, and Shizuo freezes.

“You don’t ever listen, you just get mad!” You cry out, looking up at Shizuo with tears in your eyes. “No matter what, you’re always…!”

You inhale, and speak again, your voice still shrill and shaky. You don’t feel yourself. “Why are you mad at me…? Why? Do you think I tried to get involved with Izaya?”

You lock eyes with him and deal the finishing blow.

“Do you think Izaya would have ever bothered me if it weren’t for you?!”

It’s not true, and you know it. Flying through the auditorium ceiling pretty much sealed your fate with Izaya.

But you’re sure Shizuo has thought of it, and you said it to hurt him. 

You need him to go away… it’s too much. It’s all too much. Your head is still buzzing. You look down and hold your head, quietly crying.

You immediately regret what you said, and Shizuo goes eerily silent. 

His breaths are no longer ragged.

You hear a few footsteps, then the door closing quietly behind him. 

You look up to see an empty room. 

A few moments pass as you stand there, staring blankly at your room. 

You inhale a deep shaky breath, and throw yourself onto your bed. You clench your comforter so tightly your knuckles turn white, and you’re sobbing before you even know it.

The buzzing in your head still hasn’t gone away, and it’s too much. You can’t take it. The responsibility you placed on yourself… Nara, Izaya… and Shizuo. 

You don’t know how long you lay crying in your bed, but when your sobs calm down into shaky breaths and rogue tears sliding down your cheeks, you hear your phone buzz. 

You weakly reach over and flip your phone open to see a text from Izaya.

_[3:28PM] Nara and I are going to meet on February 13th. I’ll let you know how it goes… Thank you for your valued assistance thus far (*_ ・∀ _-)_ ☆

No, that can’t be it. All your work and you still hadn’t figured out a way to help Nara. You didn’t understand what anything meant: your dream, Izaya’s intentions, the plan…

You couldn’t lose Shizuo for nothing.

You wipe your face and click the respond button, and you’re suddenly falling.

You vaguely recognize that you’re flat on your back and your head is spinning with vertigo.

You’re back in your dream, and it’s the most crystal clear it’s ever been. Yet it’s only pieces.

_Izaya is meeting with Nara._

_He has the usb drive._

_Izaya is smiling._

_Nara gasps in horror._

_You look down and there is blood all over your hands._

You gasp like its the first breath you’ve ever taken, and sit up so fast you black out slightly from the blood rush. You’re on your bed in your room.

That was the first vision you’ve ever had while conscious… It was so real. So tangible.

You look down at your hands, but they’re clean and dry.

You look at the room around you, still in disbelief. Something is definitely going to happen on February 13th.

All you can do is stare at the room around you, thoughts swimming, until you come to a realization.

Izaya was right about you, all along.

It’s not the conclusion you were hoping to have after all of this, but it’s the one you come to nonetheless.

Despite all your struggling, you can’t help yourself.

You have to help Nara. You don’t know if Izaya would stab him, but you don’t know who else could be there… the Matsuda-kai? Kouichi Nara?

You don’t know.

You shouldn’t do anything about it, you know that. Izaya already played his little game with you, you don’t have to bother with this.

But you already saved Nara once. And even though your hands are dry now, you can still feel the blood that could very well be his covering your hands.

You grab your phone from your side, and quickly reply to Izaya.

_[4:30PM] i’ll come with. where are you guys meeting and when_

It’s a few minutes before Izaya replies.

_[4:34PM] Why?_

_[4:34PM] i think i should be there. just please tell me_

You hope that your vague explanation will be enough to intrigue Izaya to allow you to come along just to see what happens, and you chew your lip in anticipation.

You jump when your phone buzzes in your hands again, and you hurriedly open Izaya’s reply.

_[4:35PM] Ok. Meet me outside Shinjuku station at 6PM._

Your phone buzzes again.

_[4:35PM] It’s going to be a very romantic Valentine’s Day! (_ ● ♡∀♡ _)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UH OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	7. Valentine's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i couldn't just leave it after that last chapter so double upload tonight fellas!!

When you return to school for the next semester, you don’t eat lunch with Shizuo and Shinra anymore.

You find it hard to even look at Shizuo, the guilt overwhelming you. He doesn’t really seem to want to look at you either. 

There are clearly still things unsaid between the two of you that you both want to say, but neither of you are really able to take that first step through the current awkward atmosphere.

Shinra is sympathetic, and when you apologize for missing out on lunch, he just tells you not to worry about it; but to hurry and make up soon because Shizuo has been miserable.

You return to how you were on your first day: eating with Takeda and Kuchiki during lunch. Thankfully, they don’t ask any questions about what happened. But they are very interested in the rumor that’s spread that you’re dating Orihara Izaya. You politely deny it and change the subject to Takeda’s new object of affections, Shishizaki Hajime.

Your mood these days is ruined even further by the shitty weather. The magic of winter has worn off and turned into frigid winds, sleet, and dirty gross melted snow in the gutter. Since you walk home alone these days, you don’t have the human heater of Shizuo to keep you warm anymore.

Izaya also hasn’t been in touch for a while, either. You assume he is either setting up for whatever scheme he has planned or is dealing with minor issues.

Then before you know it, it’s February 12th and you feel no less hopeful for a positive outcome than you did at the beginning of the year.

Takeda and Kuchiki discuss Valentine’s Day this year and ask if you are planning on getting chocolates for anyone special, still hung up on the illicit love affair between you and Izaya. You weren’t; in fact, the entire existence of Valentine’s Day had escaped your mind with all you had going on.

So why are you now outside the Godiva shop?

You’re not quite sure yourself. You would like to get chocolates for your friends: some for Shinra as makeup for giving his Christmas present to Izaya, some for Kadota and his friends, some for Kuchiki and Takeda… some for Kanji as well. 

And maybe a small part of you thinks giving Shizuo some chocolates when you apologize to him will make him more willing to forgive you. 

You step into the shop, wading through hordes of girls and women alike who are surrounding the displays. You don’t know much about chocolate, but you think most people like milk chocolate. With Shizuo’s sweet tooth, he might even like white chocolate best. You chuckle to yourself and start collecting some chocolate boxes from the shelves.

When you move to turn into the next aisle, you notice that unlike all the others, it’s mostly empty: except for two people. One of them is emitting just such bad vibes you immediately understand why the aisle is so empty.

You’re about to step in when you realize: _oh shit, that’s Heiwajima Kasuka and Shizuo!_

You take another quick step and slide behind the shelf dividing this aisle from the next.

Hold on, why are they even here?

Against your better judgement, you stop and peek at them from behind the shelf.

They’re silent, Shizuo seemingly going through some intense deliberation. He’s holding two boxes of chocolates, and you’re afraid he’s going to grip them so hard he breaks the packaging. Kasuka is patiently waiting at his side.

You notice that you aren’t the only girl watching them: there are tons of girls lining the other side of the aisle peeking at them with curious faces. Well, you suppose they are both quite handsome, even if Kasuka ends up being the teenage heartthrob. 

…You briefly wonder if Shizuo is here for the same reason you are… and you shake the thoughts off. 

You aren’t quite done punishing yourself yet. No hopeful thoughts like that for now!

You quietly slide the chocolate you’ve gathered so far onto one of the shelves and decide to go to another store. 

—

Kanji is just on his way out to take Shoyu on a walk when you arrive home.

“Oh, hi.” You greet (well, mostly grunt) as you struggle to take your shoes off before stepping into the hall. Looks like Chie’s mom and dad are still out: most likely grocery shopping.

“Hey.” He zips up his jacket and starts to put on his shoes when you speak again.

“Oh… hey, just so you know, I’m going to stop by Shinjuku before coming home tomorrow. So if mom or dad ask.”

Kanji stops and turns to stare at you. “Ok. Why are you telling me?”

_Well, so if something goes horribly wrong tomorrow, somebody knows where to find me._

“Just cause. If mom and dad ask—“

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Kanji is already out the door before you can speak again. God, he is so not cute.

You head upstairs to your room, plop down on your bed, and stare at the ceiling. 

Big day tomorrow. 

You close your eyes, the combination of your exhaustion and the overwhelming whiteness of Chie’s ceiling too much to look at right now.

You wonder if the reason Chie struggled so much with her visions was the same heavy sense of responsibility that’s weighing you down right now. 

If you think about it rationally, you certainly have not made a series of what most people would call ‘good’ decisions. You’ve fought with your friends, ended up working side by side with the main antagonist of the series, and repeatedly put yourself in danger to maintain some kind of peace.

Why do you try so hard to do that, anyway? Durarara!! Wasn’t a peaceful show to begin with. You suppose the audience just wants the best for the characters that they love and that was just shining through your actions.

But you’re beginning to feel like you’ve become a character of your own with the complex plot web that you’ve gotten tangled in. 

You open your eyes.

At the end of the day, you got the vision for a reason. You saw Nara, you saw Izaya, and you saw blood. 

You’ve changed the future that you saw in your dreams once before. You can do it again.

As you fall to sleep, you feel jealous of Izaya for what you think is the first time in these past 10 months. 

You wish you could care as little as he does.

—

“Ah…” Izaya exhales happily, a spring in his step as the two of you walk from Shinjuku station to your destination. “Isn’t this exciting?”

He turns to look at you, and you look significantly less amused.

“The game is reaching its climax, and the two of us have front row seats to the catalyst. What’s there not to be excited about, Chie-chan? You finally get to see the payoff of your deceit.” Izaya’s grin grows. 

You’re a little too anxious about what’s to come to get irritated like you usually do at his jabs, so you just stay quiet. He doesn’t seem to mind too much, riding the high of his excitement.

After some deliberation, you’re _mostly_ certain that Izaya will not be the one to stab Nara. But you wouldn’t put it past him to walk Nara straight into a trap that results in him being stabbed by someone else.

You don’t think Izaya is doing this for anybody but himself: not for the Matsuda-kai and certainly not for Nara. You wonder if this is the beginning of his rise to power as Ikebukuro’s renowned information broker, and feel a little funny that you of all people are the one to witness it.

It’s after school on February 13th, which means that Shinjuku is just teeming with couples today. Everywhere you look, there seems to be a couple hugging, or kissing, or holding hands… it’s kind of gross, really.

“Chie-chan, should we hold hands to blend in? Who knows what kind of people the Matsuda-kai has following me…” Izaya says, and you turn to look at him, shocked, before you realize he’s just messing with you. Again.

“…No, that’s ok!” You huff, and put both your hands in your pockets in case he gets any funny ideas.

Izaya laughs at your annoyance, and continues walking by your side.

Your relationship with Izaya has certainly been one of the most surprising developments of your time here. Any rational person would get far far away from Izaya as soon as possible: not even spare him a passing glance.

Yet, you, very foolishly, let him grow and fester in your heart. He manipulated you into the situation you’re in now, sure, but you think you’ve developed very unfortunate soft spot for him in the process. 

You’ve seen flashes of the vulnerable parts of him, and you can’t easily forget them. You wonder if that’s what compels you to play along instead of just tattling to Shizuo and letting him get the shit kicked out of him.

“Here’s our stop.” Izaya announces, and you look up to see that the two of you are now standing in front of maybe the most shady looking alley you’ve ever seen.

“… Is this a joke…?” You say, and nervously chuckle. Izaya just shoots you a smirk and enters the alley, and you rush to follow close behind. You don’t know if Izaya would help if you got attacked or grabbed or whatever might happen, but sticking close to him at least gives you the illusion of feeling safe.

Izaya knocks aside a few garbage bags with his foot and shoves a wooden board out of the way to reveal a very old and beat up looking door. It appears to be a kitchen door.

“Uh, is Nara going to know how to find this place?” You say as you follow Izaya inside.

“Yep. This place is actually quite well known…” Izaya slides his phone out of his pocket and uses the screen as a light, and you do the same. “Lots of kids come around here to smoke, drink, fuck… whatever.” 

You squint. Of course he’s one of those teens who talks about other teens like he’s not one of them. You suppose he is quite different, but he’s certainly just as immature or more.

Looking around with your light, it appears to be some sort of abandoned fast food restaurant. The menus above the counter are empty, but there are still quite a few faded decals on the wall of what you assume was the place’s mascot. You don’t really know what it’s supposed to be, but the black decay around the decal’s face is really disconcerting.

It’s pretty dark in here. A tiny chill runs down your spine as you ascertain that yes, this is indeed the location from your dream.

“Nara should be here soon enough,” Izaya announces and takes a seat at one of the booths that line the walls. “I think it’s about time I fill you in.” You turn to look at him, and he’s already made himself comfortable, legs crossed and arms resting on the back of the booth. He gestures for you to sit across from him, and you do so, albeit significantly more on guard.

“So—“ Izaya begins, but you speak at the same time.

“What do you want with all the emails?”

Izaya smirks and leans forward onto the table.

“Do you know who the Awakasu-kai are?”

You think that if this were earlier in the year, you would have feigned ignorance in order to maintain the appearance of normalcy. But considering you’re waiting with Orihara Izaya in an abandoned fast food restaurant to participate in what you’re pretty sure is an illegal activity, you’re kind of past that at this point.

“Yes.” 

“What you might not know is that the Matsuda-kai were actually a smaller sub-sect of the Awakasu-kai,” Izaya explains. “but due to… let’s call it differences in leadership, Matsuda-kai defected in the last year and decided to strike out on their own.”

“It’s significantly smaller than the Awakasu-kai. Around 20 members, give or take.” He continues. “They’ve been a thorn in the side of the Awakasu-kai for quite a while. They don’t really have the right to be after Nara Kouichi considering most of the money he’s stolen is rightfully the Awakasu-kai’s.”

You pause, then you come to a realization. Your shock must show on your face, because Izaya’s grin grows.

“Becoming more clear now? At the end of the day… It doesn’t really matter if I clear the Nara’s debt with the Matsuda-kai or not. That money belongs to the Awakasu-kai.” He shrugs, and your heart sinks in your chest. 

“To Nara’s benefit…” Izaya rests back in his chair. “It’s unlikely the Awakasu-kai really cares about the money at this point. They’re much more interested in taking revenge on the Matsuda-kai… hence the information from the emails.” He taps his temple and smiles at you. “But I can make no guarantee for how the Awakasu-kai will choose to enact their judgement on the Matsuda-kai and their guarantors.” 

“So…” You say. “You’re doing this because…?”

“Well, it’s certainly been very fun to watch Nara-kun squirm…” He grins and you visibly react in disgust. “But it will also get the attention of some very important people in the Awakasu-kai when I hand that information over to them.”

Your guess was right. You must be here to witness the beginning of Izaya’s rise to power.

But it doesn’t sound like this isn’t going to end with any sort of blood if what Izaya’s telling you is entirely truthful… which is unlikely, but still. 

“So what are you going to do?” Izaya says. “Certainly your self-righteousness won’t let you just allow Nara-kun to leave none the wiser. Or were you so insistent on coming along for some other reason?”

Izaya’s a smart guy. You think it’s unfortunate that he uses it to hurt other people. He’s really just hurting himself.

You open your mouth to respond, but the two of you quickly turn to look at the door when you hear movement outside.

You look at each other, and you think you see Izaya mouth _showtime_ in the dim light of his cellphone.

Nara steps inside, his cellphone also held up to light his path, and the three of you stare each other down.

“Welcome, welcome!” Izaya greets, sliding his phone in his pocket and leaving you to light his way. “Glad you could make it.”

“…Yeah.” Nara mumbles. You barely hear him when he speaks… You think he looks worse than when you saw him 2 months ago.

“You’ve brought it?” You feel thankful that Izaya is cutting to the chase in the exchange and isn’t continuing to chastise Nara as he has in the past.

Nara nods. Izaya stands and you follow his example, keeping your distance from the two but leaving a watchful eye on them. 

You’re feeling oddly calm… which is actually more concerning than anything else.

Nara places the usb drive in Izaya’s hand and Izaya flicks it open, which you think is a little funny. He flicks it back and puts it in his pocket, smiling at Nara.

“Thanks. Rest assured, I will keep my end of the deal.”

Nara nods.

So wait, that’s it? You look between the two of them, surprised. This was beginning to feel a little stupid. 

_You_ were beginning to feel a little stupid. 

All that worrying and arguing for _this_?

You sigh and put your face in your hand when you hear Nara mumble something.

“… Turned out just like you wanted, huh? ... Well, not this time.” 

You look up just in time to see a flash of silver and Izaya jump back.

Nara is gripping a kitchen knife in both of his shaking hands, stance wide. Izaya is momentarily surprised, before smirking. 

“Oh, Nara-kun. Why would you give me the usb drive before attacking me?” 

“Because… I… I’ll take it from your dead hands!” Nara’s voice is trembling. He always struck you as unstable, but not “stab you with a kitchen knife” unstable. “You’ve just tortured me for your own fun and games! You’re not even going to help me!”

Izaya eyes Nara for a second longer before shrugging and whipping out his own blade.

“Too bad. Thought we might be able to be friends again.” 

The two stare each other down, and you feel kind of odd just standing there, holding your cellphone and illuminating this showdown. 

As you watch them, you feel the familiar sensation of the hairs on the back of your neck standing up.

Nara yells incoherently and lunges towards Izaya, who dodges the attack easily. Unfortunately, his sudden movement shocks you, and you drop your phone. The light vanishes from the room and the phone skids somewhere across the room.

You take a few steps back, and you feel yourself back into the counter behind you. 

The only thing illuminating Izaya and Nara are the slivers of light that are shining through from behind the cardboard-covered windows at the front of the shop. 

Everything feels slow.

Izaya is dodging well as per usual, but even he can’t see in the dark and you can tell they’re both taking their fair share of hits.

Your head is buzzing.

Izaya is landing slashes on Nara, but they’re minor annoyances at best to the enraged Nara who is swinging his knife wildly with the intention of serious damage.

There’s a cold drop of sweat trickling down the side of your neck.

You wish that someone, anyone, would stop this. You know it should be you considering you insisted on coming along, but you don’t know what you can do right now. You’re not strong enough to stop either of them.

You hear Izaya grunt and a few chairs clatter over. The two continue to scuffle across the room, and you grip the counter behind you.

Is this what you were supposed to do? Let Izaya learn some sort of lesson from this? Find out the consequences of his actions?

Maybe. But who are you to come here knowing something would happen and do nothing?

You thought you came here to save Nara. 

So did Izaya. 

And that’s what you told Shizuo you were trying to do.

Izaya lands a heavier hit on Nara, who cries out, but comes back even more crazed if the insane roar you just heard is any indication.

It’s not looking good for Izaya.

You came here to save somebody. And maybe that person is going to be Izaya.

Because if you don’t help him here, _no one else will._

Before you know what you’re doing, you’re blindly charging in-between the two of them, fists clenched, head buzzing—

Then, silence.

You’ve apparently stunned the two of them into silence, and if this is all it took to stop them from having a knife fight, you would have done it earlier.

You feel Izaya against your back, who is seemingly frozen in place. You can barely see Nara standing in front of you, trembling.

And then you feel it.

Nara’s knife leaves your side and clatters to the ground, and oh wow, this isn’t what you thought getting stabbed would feel like. You stumble to the side, and Izaya grabs you.

You don’t know if this would be considered a ‘weird kid’ thing, but you certainly had seen your fair share of movies that involved tragic and heroic deaths, and you imagined what it actually felt like to be stabbed and to die. It ended up being a pretty common theme in the games you would play with other kids, which some of them really did not like and some of them liked way too much.

“I… I…” Nara sputters helplessly for a moment before turning tail and dashing for the door, swinging it open and disappearing.

When the door swings open, it illuminates the store with the fading light from outside. Although Izaya is blocking most of the light from behind you, there’s just enough for you to see that your white uniform shirt is soaked in blood. 

“Oh,” is your only assessment of the situation before your legs give out from under you and Izaya cannot support you on his own anymore. You’re not surprised: you probably weigh more than the stick man he is. 

You ungracefully collapse to the floor, and the pain is really sinking in now. You can’t really manage too much of a protagonist monologue at this point, of all the times you thought it would be the most appropriate to have one. All you can do is watch blankly as the red spot on your stomach grows and grows.

Your gaze wanders and you see that Izaya is on the ground at your side, looking down at you with the most shocked expression you’ve ever seen on his face. There’s something more to it that you can’t quite place until you recognize it for what it is: fear. 

It’s the most boyish you’ve ever seen him, and you don’t think you’re imagining the trembling in the hands that are now applying pressure to your wound.

“Why? Why would you do that?” He sounds as aloof as ever, but you don’t miss the shaking in his voice.

You look at your hands that are covered in blood.

“Well…” You don’t know why, but you always thought that the actors coughing after getting injured were exaggerating for dramatic impact. You were wrong, and you cough a few times. 

“…I knew it would happen.” You say, and Izaya looks at you, confused.

“And no offense… B-but if I didn’t help you, I don’t think any one else ever would.” 

He’s quiet, and he applies pressure to your wound a little harder and you flinch. 

It’s silent for a few more moments, and you’re mostly concentrating on your breathing when you realize that Izaya also took a decent amount of damage in his brawl with Nara.

“Are you okay?” 

Izaya doesn’t respond, still staring distantly at your bleeding stomach, but you notice he’s got a fair share of slices and scratches over his body. You think this is one of the only times you’ve been thankful for Izaya being so evasive.

“We’ll call an ambulance…” Izaya says. “No, we’ll call Shinra. He’ll fix you up. You will be fine.” Leaving one bloody hand to apply pressure to your stomach, he reaches the other one in his pocket to retrieve his phone. “Celty can take you on her bike. Shinra and I can lift you together…” Although he’s theoretically speaking to you, he’s muttering mostly to himself. 

Rather than reassuring you, it’s more like he’s reassuring himself.

You’re feeling quite lightheaded. It’s pretty similar to when you have a vision, but this feels a lot more gradual. The vertigo is slipping in, and you’re struggling to keep your eyes open.

“You were right,” You whisper, and Izaya doesn’t look at you. “You were right.” 

And then you close your eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE until after already choosing nara's name that it is very close to nakura. i guess they do play very similar roles in very similar situations, but that was not intentional lol 
> 
> hope you all enjoy this chapter!! we have certainly taken a tonal shift. thank you for all the comments and kudos!


	8. Your Graduation

_*click*_

“…in your latest film, what do you think of the themes of loss, family, and…”

_*click*_

“…he’s looking to steal second, he’s inching…”

_*click*_

“…we’re looking at temperatures in the low 10s…”

**_*beep*_ **

Shizuo looked down to see that he had crushed the tv remote in his hand. 

…Not another one.

He groaned, tossed it carelessly next to him on the couch, and sank lower into his seat.

Nothing good was on.

Dinner was bland left overs since his parents were out of town and neither Kasuka or him had felt like cooking.

This was not helping his already shitty mood.

Kasuka was sitting calmly on the other couch, reading a book. Shizuo didn’t know if it was for school or just leisure reading; Kasuka didn’t look like he was taking notes or anything, but… either way, if he was going to explode anytime soon, might as well do it somewhere it wasn’t going to disturb Kasuka’s reading.

Shizuo pulled himself off the couch with a grunt and walked down the hall to his room. He was about to turn the doorknob when the little chalkboard hanging on his door caught his eye. 

His mom had written his name on it when they first moved in so many years ago and it had managed to stay intact ever since. There were a few additions, though.

A few hearts and smileys, a weird picture that he thought was supposed to be him, stars… from Shinra and Chie.

Mostly from Chie.

Shizuo thrust the door open and slammed it shut behind him, just careful enough to not break the door off its hinges. His dad wasn’t home and wouldn’t be able to reattach the door until tomorrow… He really needed to ask his dad to show him how to do it next time.

He threw himself on his bed, lying on his back and glaring at the ceiling like it was trying to pick a fight with him. 

This was fucking stupid.

_ Really fucking stupid. _

So he and Chie had a fight. So what?

Why were they still walking on eggshells around each other and pretending like the other didn’t exist?

Sure, he was contributing. He couldn’t even look at her without his heart dropping into his chest. 

And every time that happened, Shinra would give him the worst googly eyes and he’d have to seriously restrain himself from popping a blood vessel. 

Shizuo closed his eyes.

_“…Why do you have to get so angry all the time…?”_

_“Do you think Izaya would have bothered me if it weren’t for you?!”_

He frowned.

Yeah, probably not. 

That fucking asshole would do anything to get under his skin… That’s why he was always hanging around Chie like the fucking flea he is…!

Shizuo released the fist he didn’t know he was making and opened his eyes.

So could he really blame Chie for what she said? 

He knew she said it to hurt him and to make him go away. But there had to be some truth to it.

Shizuo was honestly just shocked she had hung around this long in the first place. She was… _kind, gentle, soft, mature, responsible_ … Shizuo shook himself out of it, preventing himself from going down his usual Chie rabbit-hole. 

She was just good. And he was…

He groaned in frustration and put his face in his hands. God, what kind of pathetic fucking asshole was he? 

Yeah, he wasn’t the best fucking guy out there, but he sure wasn’t the lowest of the low garbage like someone else he knows. 

If he had an issue, he had to solve it. Not just lie here and fucking whine about it!

Shizuo sat up quickly, ready to take action.

…Okay, just showing up at her house again didn’t seem like the best choice. Then what should he do?

He sat on the edge of his bed for a moment when his phone rang.

Shinra.

Shizuo grabbed the phone and pressed the hang up button. He didn’t have time for that right now; he’d listen to Shinra gush over Celty some other night.

He tossed it to the side and was about to return to his thoughts when the phone rang again.

Shizuo pressed the hang up button again.

Then it rang once more.

He grabbed the phone, flipped it open, and held it to his ear.

_“What?!”_ Shizuo growled.

“… Um, is… Is this Shizuo?” A voice that he didn’t recognize mumbled from the other line.

He blinked and felt the rage leave him in a wave, replaced with confusion. Shizuo pulled the phone away from his ear to look at the number. It wasn’t one that was in his contacts, and that brought a frown to his face.

“…Yeah? Who’s calling?”

“This…” They took a deep breath. “This is Kanji, Chie’s little brother?”

Kanji? Why was Kanji calling him? 

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Uh. My… sister said she was going to Shinjuku after school. Are you with her right now?”

Shizuo’s frown grew. Why would she go to Shinjuku? He saw her when she left; she left alone.

“No, I’m not.” 

“Oh.”

There was silence on the other end.

“…Is that it?” Shizuo said, rubbing his forehead.

“She’s not home yet, so I thought maybe you were with her… I guess she’s with her weird boyfriend.”

Shizuo blinked. Her boyfriend? 

Her weird boyfriend.

Not Shinra. Kanji would know Shinra’s name.

Shizuo’s grip on the phone tightened.

“… I got it.” 

“Yeah, uh—“

Kanji heard the dial tone, and pulled the phone away from his ear to see that the call had ended.

—

Chie had passed out about 5 minutes ago.

She was losing so much blood. 

Shinra was not picking up.

“Chie.” Izaya said quietly, and got no response. He applied pressure to her wound just a little harder.

His hands were almost entirely covered in blood now.

“Chie.” Izaya said a little louder.

She did not stir.

Izaya stared at her intently for a long moment, trying to still the frantic beating of his heart. There had to be a way to fix this. He tried to arrange everything in his head:

He couldn’t call an ambulance. Having to get involved with the authorities would just look sloppy and he couldn’t afford that if he was trying to get the Awakasu-kai’s attention.

Shinra was not picking up. He could try again in a few minutes.

Chie was losing a lot of blood. You were supposed to apply pressure to the wound to slow down the bleeding, but what after that? If Chie didn’t receive medical attention fast, he…

Izaya did not know what would happen or what he would do.

Shifting her onto her side, Izaya released his hold on her wound to quickly remove his school jacket. This should do for the time being.

He wrapped it as tight as he could around her, awkwardly pushing her to and fro to get the thing around her entirely.

Now.

How to do this next part?

Izaya took a deep breath and grabbed her arm, using all his strength to sit her up. He eyed her wound warily, but there was so much blood it was hard to tell if there had been any negative impacts from his last action.

Next, he put her arm around his shoulder and one hand on her side, careful to avoid her wound. 

Chie was tall for a girl and built strong, most likely from her previous volleyball captain experience in middle school, if Izaya recalled his research right.

Izaya was about the same height as her, and appeared rather frail. He certainly had built up strength from fighting with Shizuo constantly and free running around the city, but he wasn’t really meant to do any heavy lifting.

Balancing most of his weight on his legs, Izaya struggled to lift Chie’s weight. He grit his teeth under her weight and slowly rose…

Only to tumble back to the ground when his legs couldn’t handle their combined weights anymore. He had taken his fair share of damage in the knife fight with Nara, after all.

Great, now he just threw the wounded girl to the ground. That was sure to help a lot.

Izaya had fallen to his knees and was now focusing on maintaining his breathing: that had taken a lot out of him. That’s the only reason for the tightness in his chest and his rapid heartbeat.

“This your fault?”

Oh no.

Izaya looked up slowly to see Heiwajima Shizuo standing in the doorway, also out of breath.

This was the last thing he needed right now. Shizuo was not easily swayed by reason: the sight of Chie bleeding out on the ground was sure to make it even less likely for the brute to listen to anything he had to say right now.

Izaya coughed, then spoke: “Shizu-chan—“

“I’ll fucking kill you.”

Ah.

“Once this is over.”

Izaya watched Shizuo in shock as he lumbered over to Chie. The sight of her bleeding out was having a fair amount of impact on everyone, it seemed, as Shizuo went eerily quiet. 

He reached out to her, hands trembling.

_Oh,_ Izaya realized. _He’s afraid he’ll hurt her even more._

_Wouldn’t that be a tragedy? Well, more like a comedy._

“Shizu-chan, I know you’re drowning in self-pity right now, but Chie-chan doesn’t really have a lot of time, so if you could hurry it along…” Izaya struggled to keep his voice level as he stood up and approached Shizuo, careful to keep a distance in case he decided to act out. 

“I know! Shut up!” Shizuo grunted and picked up Chie with overly gently hands, afraid she might break under his touch. 

Izaya watched as Shizuo lifted Chie like a princess, who was looking like an awfully bloody Sleeping Beauty, and looked to the doorway.

“Shinra’s is— Whoa!”

Shizuo burst out the door, breaking into a sprint, and Izaya could only watch in shock before struggling to follow behind.

—

“That was a wonderful dinner, Celty! I know you couldn’t taste it,” Shinra said, loading the last of the dishes into the dishwasher. “But trust me, the roast I made was divine… Very romantic!”

Shinra looked over the kitchen counter to see that Celty wasn’t particularly listening, far too engrossed in what appeared to be a very strange episode of Teletubbies. He sighed, smiled to himself, and picked up his cellphone off the table.

_12 missed calls from Izaya and 7 from Shizuo?!_

“Oh no… What kind of damage have those two done now…?” Shinra groaned, and stepped out of the kitchen to get his surgical kit, trusting that they would show up on their own any time now.

_“You’re in the way! Move!"_

Some banging came from the entryway. Maybe giving them the spare key had been a mistake.

_“The way you’re carrying her, she’s going to die from brain damage, not blood loss, idiot.”_

Shinra opened the door to see that, yes, Shizuo and Izaya were indeed here, looking worse for wear. What he didn’t expect to see was a very bloody and pale Chie in Shizuo’s arms.

“Oh my god!” Shinra exclaimed, and Izaya and Shizuo turned to look at him. “What happened?! Bring her in!” He held the door open and dashed back into the apartment, already rushing for his surgical kit.

Celty had stood from the tv after hearing Shinra cry out in the entryway, and moved to place a hand over her non-existent mouth when she saw Shizuo and Izaya enter with Chie.

_Oh my god!_ She tapped out frantically. _Chie-chan! What happened?_

“This asshole.” Shizuo grunted out and walked Chie into the spare room that Shinra had for clients. Celty watched Izaya as he trailed after Shizuo into the room.

Shinra hurried around the room, making sure all his equipment was plugged in and set up. “Izaya-kun!” He called. “Go get the towels from the bathroom!” 

Izaya did as he was told and quickly hurried back with all the towels from the bathroom, shoving them into Shinra’s arms.

“Thanks,” Shinra said, and tossed them down on the nearby chair. “Shizuo, you can place Chie down…”

Shizuo slowly and gently placed Chie down on the bed, and took a step back. Shinra shifted her and took a closer look at her wound, which was now completely saturated with dark, dark red blood.

“What exactly happened?” Shinra quickly started wetting the towels from the bathroom, and nodded to the other side of the room. “Shizuo, bring me the disinfectant from the shelf over there.”

“She was stabbed,” said Izaya.

“Stabbed?” Shizuo and Shinra said together, and looked at Izaya. Shinra quickly turned back to Chie and began unbuttoning her shirt to get better access to the wound, but Shizuo kept his eyes trained on Izaya.

“What do you mean, stabbed?!” Shizuo roared, quickly striding across the room to Izaya and lifting him by the collar before he had a chance to dodge. “You stabbed her? She was helping you and you stabbed her…?!”

“No, I didn’t stab her, you brute.” Izaya growled out, grabbing at the hand that was holding him. “Nara-kun did.”

“Nara…?” Shizuo hesitated.

“From our class.”

“I know who Nara is, asshole! The guy that you were going to kill in Kyoto!”

Izaya stared at him, unimpressed. “What are you even talking about…?! And put me down!”

Shizuo threw Izaya down, slamming him against the wall. Izaya grunted, the wounds from his battle with Nara still fresh.

“Chie and I had some business with Nara, that’s all. He pulled a knife, and well, here we all are. Have to say,” Izaya stood slowly, a bitter smile working it’s way onto his face. “Thought that Chie-chan would end up in here eventually, but I didn’t think it would be because of Nara…” 

Shizuo’s face erupted in rage and he roared out, “This is your fucking fault! I’ll kill you right now, you fucking asshole…!” 

“Stop it! Chie-chan is—“ Shinra cried out angrily, desperately trying to focus on suturing Chie’s wound.

Shizuo charged Izaya, fist out, ready to (hopefully) knock Izaya’s smug head off his fucking shoulders.

Izaya quickly snagged a scalpel off of the side table, preparing it to (hopefully) slice Shizuo’s throat.

But before they could make any sort of contact with each other, they found themselves frozen in place, bound by dark shadowy bonds.

“Celty…!” Shinra cried in relief. “Please, get them out of here!”

Celty nodded affirmatively, and spread her shadow to create a large sack to capture Izaya and Shizuo in.

“Wait-“ “Agh!!”

Celty slammed the door to the operating room shut, and flung Shizuo and Izaya out into the living room. Izaya rolled out headfirst, did a weird sort of tumble-somersault into the wall and grunted in pain. Shizuo flopped out and hit his chin on the coffee table, yelling out, “Fuck!”

_Honestly, the two of you!_

Izaya and Shizuo turned to Celty, staring at her in shock as she typed angrily.

_Of all the times to have one of your stupid spats! Can’t you hold it together for 5 minutes?! For Chie?!_

“Well, Shizu-chan started it.” Izaya said, sounding remarkably like a child, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

“What was that?!” Shizuo growled, leaping to his feet and immediately tripping over one of Celty’s shadows. Izaya started to laugh but quickly stopped when a black shadow was very close to cutting his throat.

_If the two of you start anything, I’m putting you back in the sack_!

That seemed to be pretty effective in getting them to shut up.

—

Shizuo slowly opened his eyes to see a dark living room, only illuminated by the dim light from Celty’s office. 

He drowsily glanced at the clock next to him on the coffee table, which read 4:30 AM. He vaguely remembered passing out around 2, desperate to stay awake for any developments in Chie’s condition. 

Shinra had said that her condition was “stable” around 10PM, but that she had lost a lot of blood and that complications still might arise. Celty had been insistent that neither he or Izaya enter the room… and even Izaya couldn’t get around her.

Shizuo sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes. He had texted Kasuka earlier to let him know that he wouldn’t be home until late and to not stay up. A simple ‘k’ was all he had received in response, which was not abnormal. 

Across the room from Shizuo was Izaya, who was curled up in a fetal position on his side and typing rapidly on his phone. If his face was any indication, he hadn’t gotten any sleep like Shizuo had. 

… Shizuo supposed that if Izaya didn’t regret his actions, he would have no reason to stick around for so long. Unless he was going to threaten Chie to not snitch when she woke up. Shizuo thought he preferred the version of this story where Izaya continued to be absolute garbage.

He stood up, and Izaya quickly turned his phone around to shine it on Shizuo’s face.

“Where are you going?” 

Shizuo squinted at the light.

“The bathroom. Get that fucking light out of my face…” 

Izaya hesitated then turned his phone back around. “You’re going to check on Chie.”

Shizuo said nothing.

“Well…” Izaya began, appearing to think of something snide to say, then stopped. “Fine.” He kept typing on his phone, and Shizuo walked down the hall.

He did in fact have to use the bathroom, so he did that first.

But afterwards, Shizuo stood outside the door to the operating room.

The light was still on, bleeding out from under the door.

Shizuo hesitated, his hand hovering over the doorknob. Was he just going to bother her?

… No, he was just going to check. He opened the door slowly, careful not to move too fast as to not make a noise.

Chie was there, laying in bed and now wearing what he assumed was one of Celty’s pajama shirts. The color in her face was now a lot better, her cheeks pink and her breath stable.

Shizuo heaved a sigh of relief. Spending a lot of time in hospitals as a child had let him see some pretty terrible injuries… and there was something quite disconcerting about a person hooked up to a respirator and filled with all sorts of tubes. 

But Chie was merely hooked up to an IV and looked to be sleeping very peacefully.

He gently closed the door behind him and approached the bed, taking a seat on the nearby chair.

Chie was breathing softly, looking remarkably peaceful for someone who had just been stabbed… what, 7 hours ago? He didn’t even know.

He rested his head in his hands and let out a long sigh. She was going to be okay. 

Shinra had reassured him many times, but it was one thing to hear and another thing to see for yourself. 

Shizuo raised his head and looked at her again.

All of her features were so soft. The curve of her nose, her cheeks… All of her features were so gently placed with the exception of those large ears of hers. Her eyebrows were large too. Shizuo stifled a fond chuckle. 

Her eyelashes were fluttering in her sleep; she must have been having some kind of dream.

Shizuo thought back to the conversation they had had in the classroom during the school festival. The dream she had…

Had she continued to have those dreams? Was that why she was talking about Nara the day he saw her in her room? 

Shizuo cringed at the memory and decided to think back to the time in the classroom instead.

It had been so long since it had just been the two of them like that.

_“The Heiwajima I know is way too kind. I would never be scared of him.”_

The way she looked at him… 

Chie had not faltered one bit when she said those words. She would never be scared of him, she said.

It made his heart squeeze tight.

He reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair from her face, then let his hand settle at the side of her face.

Shizuo was reminded of the way she looked at him when he had held her.

Her cheeks had been bright red, and her eyes were trembling. But she was surprisingly still under his touch… That if he had moved forward just a bit more, they would have…

Kissed.

Shizuo was broken out of his daze when he realized that Chie’s eyes were now open, and they were looking right at him.

“Gah!” He threw his hand in the air. 

Chie just blinked.

“You… You’re awake.” Shizuo smartly assessed.

“…Yes.” Chie said, reaching a hand up to touch her face, a small frown appearing.

An awkward silence fell over the two of them.

“… How do you feel?”

Chie didn’t respond, and lifted the blankets to look at her wound. It was tightly covered and wrapped, and Shizuo felt glad that Shinra was so capable.

“… Ok.” Chie mumbled, placing the blankets back over her body, and paused for a moment. She turned to look at him.

They still hadn’t technically made up after their fight. Shizuo averted his eyes. 

“You’re at Shinra’s. I… that flea and I brought you here.”

“Flea?”

“Yeah. Shinra fixed you up and said you’re stable now. So, you’re gonna be fine—”

“Sorry,” Chie cut him off. “Who are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh oh.
> 
> that's the end of arc number 1, everybody! next chapter, it's going to be 5 years later and arc number 2 will begin! 
> 
> the next chapter won't be up for a while yet since i need to finish plotting the second arc: anticipate it in the next few weeks! 
> 
> thank you very much to everyone who has commented and left kudos so far!! i love seeing what you all think and i'm glad you're all enjoying the story so much!!


	9. The Fool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .... and we're back! thank you everyone for the lovely comments and being so patient!! 
> 
> i feel a little out of practice so hopefully this chapter is remotely legible! 
> 
> ALSO SOME WONDERFUL FANART BY THE LOVELY MOKKA: 
> 
> https://imgur.com/a/5idkyUc
> 
> https://imgur.com/a/4pFlj3B

You used to associate vertigo, strangely enough, with a sense of peace. 

It served as a kind of benchmark when you were trying to fall to sleep: a kind of _“don’t worry, you’ll get there soon, you’re already drifting off”_. So despite the minor inconvenience, it usually was just trying to tell you something.

Vertigo has a very different meaning to you now.

You initially thought your extreme vertigo was caused by the immense height you fell when you made your spectacular entrance at the beginning of the school year.

After a long year of being harassed by delinquents, poorly trying to maintain the peace of Raijin Academy, and prophetic dreams, you now know that vertigo serves as a very different benchmark to you. 

It’s typically right before something less than ordinary is about to occur. And considering you live in Ikebukuro, it happens quite a lot.

You’re oddly conscious yet unconscious at the same time; like you’re standing in a doorway or trying to see through a curtain. Your head is spinning with that familiar sense of vertigo and you’re looking for something, anything to hold on to.

You don’t think you should be as surprised as you are when you feel your back collide with a solid surface and you’re suddenly engulfed in light.

You let out a less than attractive scream and cover your head desperately as you hear what sounds like pans clanging, glass breaking, and a surprised yell: it’s explosive and over quickly as your spine hits a very uncomfortable corner and you yelp in pain.

Okay, what possibly could have happened after getting stabbed that you are now… 

You slowly open your eyes.

…In someone’s kitchen sink?

Wait, you know this sink.

“Chie-chan…?!” The voice from before yelps, and you’re turning to see who it is when your face is being suffocated in a shoulder.

“Chie-chan! It is you!” Shinra cries out, hopping up and down as he practically strangles you in his grip. You barely manage to pry him off you and look up at him in confusion. 

None of this is adding up.

It makes sense that you would be at Shinra’s after being stabbed, but that offers no explanation for falling through his ceiling, or why he’s acting like he hasn’t seen you for years despite seeing you at school today, or why he… looks much older than the last time you saw him?

“Ki— Kishitani…?” You choke out and place your hand on your stomach, which feels… very intact for just having been stabbed…? “What… what happened?”

“Well,” Shinra says, stepping back and finally accepting that you will not take any more hugs at this time. “It looks like you fell about 2 stories through my ceiling…” He adjusts his glasses as he inspects the Chie-shaped hole you’ve made through the plaster. “…and into my sink. The impact of which sent several glasses and pans flying onto my floor…” 

You both look down to see broken ceramic, glass, and a variety of pots and pans on the ground.

“Oh, no! Celty’s Ireland mug!!” 

“No! That’s not what I mean!” You say, and manage to pull yourself out of the sink and onto the floor with minor assistance from Shinra. “I mean…”

You look around the apartment. It looks like it’s been expanded: there’s an office where the tv used to be, and there’s another hallway that wasn’t there before. You turn to Shinra, clearly very confused, but try to stay on topic. 

“I got stabbed…? Did you give me stitches? Where’s Izaya?”

Shinra blinks, now also very confused. “Stabbed? You look remarkably okay to me, Chie-chan! This is just like the—“

“Yes, just like the entrance ceremony. Nara stabbed me!” You pause. “Well, he meant to stab Izaya, but I-“

“Chie-chan, slow down. Are you talking about when you got stabbed in our second year?”

Hm. 

Shinra is speaking in the past tense. 

Your wound is remarkably healed.

He also looks a whole lot older and the apartment has been substantially renovated.

“Shinra...” you begin slowly. “The last thing I remember is getting stabbed by Nara and passing out. Now I’m in your kitchen sink. What’s going on?”

Shinra stares at you in amazement before letting out a weird laugh in what seems to be shock and dismay.

“Oh my god... Well, this sure is fascinating...!” He takes a step closer, adjusting his glasses as he inspects you. You stand awkwardly still as he looks you over, hoping that there’s some kind of sign on your body that clearly explains the apparent time travel of the soul to a medical professional.

“If what you’re saying is true...” Shinra leans back. “Chie-chan, this part of your consciousness has been gone for about five years!”

You stare at him.

“After you regained consciousness the night you were stabbed, you appeared to have suffered a bizarre form of amnesia where you had no memory of the past school year! Everything from after the entrance ceremony was missing!” Shinra explains, looking deep in thought as he recalls the past events. “But now those memories have returned... except you’re now missing the past five years…!” 

While anybody else would be substantially concerned after a friend totally forgot them for five years and then crashed through their ceiling into their kitchen sink, Shinra looks remarkably excited as he begins to pace around his kitchen.

“Chie-chan, that’s crazy!” 

You know. But you think you _might_ have an idea as to how this happened.

“How is something like that even possible… Some sort of self defense mechanism after the shock of being stabbed… blocking out all your memories, but triggered by the similar event of bursting through my ceiling?”

He pauses.

“Wait, what were you doing in my building, anyway?”

“ _Kishitani!_ ” You slam your hand on the counter. When Shizuo does this to get Shinra to shut up, it usually works, and it remains tried and true as Shinra shuts his trap.

“Kishitani, I—“

“Chie-chan, you can call me Shinra! We’re not at school anymore—“

“ ** _Shinra_** , I need to tell you something. I think I know what’s going on. Kind of. ” You say through thinly veiled irritation, and Shinra smiles. Part of you thinks he was baiting you, but you know better. 5 years has not cured Shinra of his inherently annoying nature.

“Why didn’t you say so sooner!” He practically sings, and trots over to the living room, patting the chair next to the loveseat he perches himself on. “You know, I missed our talks!”

You heave a deep sigh and follow him into the living room.

—

After 6 long years, you finally manage to explain your situation to Shinra. You conveniently leave out the fact that _Durarara!!_ Is a manga/anime/light novel in your own world, since you think that might be a bit too much to process combined with your already barely believable inter-dimensional travel. You tell him your real name, about where you’re from, and the past year from your perspective.

Shinra listens patiently and quietly, with the exception of a few oohs and aahs which make you think that some of your odd behavior he had privately questioned in the past has finally been made clear.

“Chie-chan…” He pauses and looks at you, and you nod for him to continue. You’ve gone by Chie for the past year. You don’t expect him to start calling you by your real name now. 

“… As much as I appreciate you coming clean to me after so long…” Shinra sighs after you finish, slumping back in the loveseat. “I think I know about as much as you do at this point.”

You slump back in your chair as well, counting the cracks in the ceiling. You don’t get very far. “…Yeah, I figured as much…” You sigh. “Do you think your dad would know anything?”

Shinra hums. “It’s worth a shot… But you know, while we’re invested in the supernatural, which your case definitely _is_ …” He slowly sits up and rests his chin in his hand. “Our experiences have been much more tangible. This seems to have to do with…. The soul.”

You two sit in silence for a few minutes, sharing the weight of Shinra’s last statement on your shoulders. He’s right. Your problem has a whole lot more to do with you and Chie’s shared consciousness than anything like the supernatural that exists in this universe. 

The silence allows your mind to wander, and you think about how weird it is to miss an entire 5 years of your life. You suppose it was never really “your” life, but it sure felt like it for the better part of the last year. What did Chie get up to while you were gone?

Your eyes drift to Shinra, who is already looking at you.

“I’m sure you’re wondering about all that you missed?” He smiles. “You know, it’s weird. The Chie that woke up five years ago… I could almost tell immediately— just by her mannerisms- that something was different. But you looking at me just now… It’s so familiar. I can read you pretty well.” Shinra’s smile grows into a grin as you look away shyly. 

You suppose this would be a much more emotional experience for Shinra than it is for you, considering he had to wait 5 years to get his friend back. For you, it’s only been about 2 hours since you last saw him as you were leaving school with Izaya.

“Well, I’ll cut to the good stuff. After you _left_ …” He does heavy air quotes. “You pretty much ignored all of us. Izaya tried to harass you as usual for the rest of the year, but I guess something you did got him to bug off. He didn’t seem to like that very much…” Shinra thinks a little harder before a smile spreads on his face. 

“Oh, yeah! Shizuo fell into a crazy depression and didn’t eat or sleep for _days._ Imagine what would have happened if you had stuck around long enough to reject him when he finally asked you out!” He laughs and you stare at him in shock.

“Didn’t eat or sleep!?” You yelp.

“Nah, I’m just exaggerating.” Shinra waves you off, laughing, and you punch him in the arm. 

“Ow—!” Shinra dramatically nurses his arm and worms further down the loveseat to get away from your swinging arms. “He took it pretty hard though and was bummed out for a pretty long time. I think he tried to talk to you a couple times… I don’t know what happened, but he and Chie aren’t on speaking terms now, that’s for sure.”

You look down at Shinra’s carpet as your heart sinks. You can’t imagine what that must have been like for Shizuo… Especially after how you left things.

“Hmmm… Izaya’s an information broker now and I think he’s mostly been working with the Awakasu-kai. And as you can see…” Shinra gestures down at his lab coat. “I’m a doctor! An underground doctor, mind you. So Izaya and I share some clients…”

You already know all this, of course, but continue to nod in feigned interest.

“So… What has Chie been up to? Do you even know?” You ask.

“Hmm.” Shinra strokes his chin. “Last I heard, you were living over in Asakusa… Not sure what you— I mean, Chie— has been up to.”

The two of you sit in silence for another minute.

“I mean, have you tried just checking your pockets?” Shinra suggests.

Oh. Why didn’t you think of that sooner? You begin to pat yourself down, and feel the outline of what seems to be a phone and wallet in your inner jacket pocket. You pull them out and rest them on the coffee table, and you and Shinra peer down at the two objects.

The phone is a purple iPhone 11 with a clear plastic case, and the wallet is a small and basic leather bifold wallet. The phone is locked with a code, so you toss it back onto the table and take a stab at the wallet.

Chie doesn’t really carry any cash, but she has a drivers license, 5 credit cards (which is a bit concerning), and what looks like to be a stack of business cards.

“Otsuka Chie, fortune teller…” You read out loud, and flip the card over. The design is pretty simple, a red line separating Chie’s name from the phone number and email address underneath. You and Shinra look at each other and he shrugs, pulling out his phone. He dials the number, and Chie’s phone rings. No dice.

“Chie-chan…” You look up at Shinra. “I mean, I know that… you might not be exactly _fond_ of this idea, but you know, we could…”

Oh no. You know what he’s about to say.

“…Call Izaya-kun, and…” He weakly trails off, something in your expression clearly managing to dissuade even Shinra.

“I mean, all I’m saying is that of _all_ people, he probably knows a thing or two about you! And we can’t get into your phone, so!”

You sigh. He’s right. And to be completely honest, considering the last thing you saw before blacking out was…

You still can’t describe the emotion you saw on Izaya’s face. Either way, it’s got you feeling some type of way, and you’re much less reluctant to be in contact with Izaya than the you of five years ago. 

“Fine, okay.” You admit defeat, and Shinra perks up, turning back to his phone before you grab his arm. Shinra turns to look at you with a touch of confusion on his face.

“But…” You begin, unsure and averting your eyes.“Maybe don’t tell him I’m here…? I don’t know if I’m really ready to see Izaya yet.” 

“Well… I’ll certainly do my best!” Shinra replies, and you’re not very convinced as he taps away on his phone to pull up Izaya’s contact information.

**_Brrrrng._ ** ****

**_Brrrrng._ ** ****

**_Brrrrng._ ** ****

**_Brrrrng._ ** ****

“… He usually picks up by now.” Shinra explains as you stare at him.

**_Brrrng._ **

“Maybe he’s not home?” You weakly suggest.

**_Brrrng._ **

Shinra stares at you. “Chie, I know it’s been 5 years, but we have always had cell—“

**_Brrr_** —

_“Hello, Shinra! To what do I owe the pleasure?”_ A familiar pretentious voice booms from Shinra’s phone, and you both recoil almost comedically as Shinra desperately taps down the volume on his phone.

“Er— Hi, Izaya!” Shinra manages to get the phone back up to his ear, nearly fumbling it a few times on the way. You can only watch with growing dread, a familiar emotion you associate with Izaya.

“Oh…. You know… not much.” He leans back. “What’s up with you?” 

You put your head in your hands.

“Ok! Enough about that, I have a question for you. Do you remember Chie from high school?”

Wow, subtlety is not one of Shinra’s strengths. You do not know why you thought he would be better at this.

You can’t handle any more of this. Shinra can just tell you how it went afterwards. You stand up from your chair and walk down the hallway, Shinra’s voice gradually getting quieter as you look for the bathroom. 

“Oh, no reason at all! You know, just reminiscing and all that… I am getting old, you know…”

On your quest, you realize that Shinra’s workspace has expanded, and where his spare makeshift operating room once was is more of a proper set up. You figure this is where you were when Shizuo and Izaya brought you after you got stabbed. 

You suppose you had no choice in the matter, but it still tugs at your heart to think that your friends were under the impression for five years that you just didn’t want anything to do with them anymore.

Your mind swims with questions as you stare at the empty operating room.

Why did Chie come back? If it even _was_ Chie, and not some other inter-dimensional traveler. And why then? Does it all have something to do with her powers? The business card said she was now in business as a fortune teller, and if Shinra was right, she had remained in Tokyo. 

Still entrenched deep in your thoughts, you make your way into the bathroom. You distantly notice that it’s been upgraded since you were last here, and the design is pretty sleek and modern. You splash your face with some cold water from the sink and look at your… well, Chie’s face, in the mirror. 

She’s still got her trademark monkey-esque ears and thick brows, albeit a little more well groomed than the last time you saw them. Her hair, which previously was dark and fell just a little longer than her shoulders, is now in a short bob and has been lightened into a medium brown. Her eyes have a few bags underneath them, and you figure her prophetic dreams have not gone away with age.

You’re pulled out of your thoughts by a sharp rap at the bathroom door.

“Chie-chan? Izaya wants to talk to you.”

—

_“Long time no talk, Chie-chan! We were so close in high school… what happened to us?”_ Izaya’s voice drawls from the other end of the phone while you glare at Shinra, who is smiling innocently.

“Yes, well…” You sigh and drag a hand down your face. “About that…”

Izaya cuts you off. _“Why are you having Shinra call me to ask questions about yourself? Seems like you could just do that yourself!”_

You open your mouth to respond, but per usual, Izaya never shuts up.

_“You know, I usually don’t do this, but because we’re such old friends, why don’t you come pay me a visit? An appointment, free of charge. I’m sure Celty knows the way. I’ll see you soon!”_

…And he’s hung up. You look at Shinra, who appears to be intensely interested in the bowl of fruit on his kitchen counter.

“Shinra…” You begin, and he looks up at you with a smile. “…I’d say you tried your best, but…” 

“Oh, come on, Chie-chan.” Shinra waves a lazy hand at you, dismissing your last statement. “You know how Izaya is! It was going to end up this way eventually.”

Yeah, he’s probably right. 

“Celty should be on her way home now… I’ll give her a call and see if she can give you a ride! She’ll be so excited to see you!” Shinra beams as you hand him his phone back, and you slump down onto the couch as he makes the call. This has been an awful lot to process within an hour.

—

Celty _is_ excited to see you, despite being overwhelmed by Shinra’s disorganized outpour of information of everything the two of you have discussed in the past hour. She seems just as reluctant to take you to Izaya’s as you are to visit him, but she agrees to take you.

The ride is short and sweet, and the city has hardly changed in the 5 years you’ve been gone. 

The dullahan drops you off in Shinjuku outside of Izaya’s high-rise, and you peer up at the building which appears to go on forever. Figures he likes high places. 

Celty taps you on the shoulder, and you look down to see her holding up a message on her PDA. 

_I’m sure you already know this, but be careful._

You read the message and smile at Celty’s kindness. You give her a nod, which she returns, (and you still don’t quite understand how she nods without a head) and step into the lobby.

As you make your way over to the elevator, you wonder if all of Izaya’s neighbors are aware that one of the most dangerous men in Ikebukuro shares their building. 

The elevator ride is long and the terrible muzak is not helping your growing anxiety.

Before you can even knock on the door, it opens, which oddly makes you feel like Izaya watched your entire trip up here and was just waiting next to the door for you to arrive.

The two of you lock eyes and you feel your breath catch in your throat. 

Well, you already knew he was handsome, but he’s older now and has lost some of his more boyish features; his features are somehow even sharper, his shoulders broader, and he’s surpassed Chie in height, now standing more than a few inches taller than you. 

His smile grows and he stands back to let you in. 

“Long time no see.” 


	10. The Magician

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit of a different pace for the chapters of the second part!! we're slowing down a little bit but we'll pick up the pace again soon :)
> 
> i got a comment on the last chapter asking if there was going to be any smut in this story and honestly i don't know. what do you guys think?? i thought it might be out of place in this story but let me know what u guys want!!
> 
> additionally, everyone should go check out my wonderful and beautiful friend tenebruhism's shizuo/reader/izaya fic, cigarettes and coffee!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/26942533/chapters/65755585 send her lots of love!
> 
> P.S. PLEASE LOOK AT THIS PIC I COMMISSIONED FROM MY FRIEND SETSULKO 🥺🥺🥺!!! https://twitter.com/setsulko_/status/1315203223607681025

Izaya leads you into his apartment, and you marvel at the wide open space. You suppose it is a penthouse apartment, after all.

It looks exactly like you remember it from the anime; the whole place is carefully designed, with a coherent color palette and sleek dark wood floors. Most of the furniture is leather, with the exception of some end and coffee tables. A large glass window lines the back wall, reaching the ceiling and providing a picturesque view of the city behind Izaya’s desk. 

Namie’s desk is empty, seemingly already having left work for the day. Which means that you and Izaya are alone in his apartment. You’re not quite sure how you’re supposed to feel about that.

Izaya sits down on one of the long leather couches and gestures for you to do the same. You choose the loveseat diagonal from him, and sit down stiffly. Izaya is looking at you with laughter in his eyes, seemingly amused by your awkward behavior. 

You feel like a fish out of water. You have to remind yourself that you’re practically in an entirely different reality now. It’s been five years; the boyish and unfortunately charming Izaya of the past is no longer.

Well, he’s still unfortunately charming.

Izaya leans back, arms slung over the back of the couch. “So, what do you think?”

You look up at him, unsure of what he’s talking about at first. The apartment? Of the situation? It’s really hard to tell. Anything Izaya says could be a double entendre. 

“You know, if you wanted to come over, you could have just asked, Chie-chan! Don’t need to use Shinra as a bridge…” He says in a floaty tone, and takes a sip from his mug on the coffee table. “It has been a while… what’s up with you these days?”

You can’t help but gawk. He’s really going to pretend like he’s not practically omnipotent when it comes to the ongoings of the citizens of Ikebukuro?

“Hm?” He takes another sip, smug eyes peeking at you over the rim of the mug. “Nothing new to report?”

“Well… I was actually hoping you could tell _me._ ” You sigh, and decide to just submit to your fate. If you learned anything from your year in high school as classmates and your reluctant few months as partners in crime, trying to fight against Izaya’s pace of conversation was fruitless.

“Whatever could you mean?” Izaya asks in mock surprise, and you throw him a weak glare.

“I’ll cut to the chase.” You lean forward in your seat, locking eyes with Izaya. “Remember when I got stabbed and woke up with no memories? Well, now, I don’t remember anything that happened after getting stabbed— basically, my consciousness… is that of 5 years ago.” Yeah, you reallydon’t sound as bright as you’d like to right now. Might as well just run with it.

“I passed out after getting stabbed, and about 3 hours ago, I woke up in Shinra’s sink after flying through the ceiling, just like the entrance ceremony our sophomore year.” Izaya’s expression doesn’t change as you speak, still eyeing you with seemingly mild interest.

“So, basically, I’d just like to know where my house is and what I’ve been up to these past five years so I can go to bed. It looks like I have 5 credit cards in my wallet and I don’t know about any of them yet so just do whatever you want with them.” You think you see Izaya mildly choke on his tea from laughter but you probably imagined it.

“Well, isn’t this interesting.” Izaya places his mug on the coffee table and looks at you, a trademark smirk plastered on his face. “Sure is awfully convenient, hm?”

You blink.

“Many people come to me asking for information on themselves!” Izaya leans forward, resting his arms on his knees. “It’s important to know what kind of dirt any potential enemies could get on you… You don’t have to play the amnesia game, Chie-chan.”

The spark in his eye makes you think he doesn’t actually think you’re lying. He’s just fishing for more information out of you, you think. Or more accurately, a reaction.

Funny how getting stabbed sorts out your priorities. You don’t feel really up to messing around any longer.

“Listen, Izaya. Yes, you were right all along.” His grin grows.

“I can see the future and I have prophetic dreams.” Hm. When you summarize it like that, you really do sound crazy. 

“And the reason for the switcharoo with my consciousness is because I’m not really Chie.” 

His grin falters and you continue, your confident start dissolving into a bit of a ramble as you once again really how little you know about your own situation.

“I mean, I _am_ Chie, but… my consciousness isn’t originally Chie’s. Uh, well…” You scramble for words, and you begin to feel very self-conscious as you and Izaya switch places, because now he’s the one looking at you like you’re crazy. 

“I’m from another world, and I started being Chie the first day of our sophomore year. Then my consciousness left again after I got stabbed. And… now it’s back.” You peek up at Izaya nervously, who is staring at you blankly. 

A few moments of silence past, neither of you saying a word. The silence is finally broken with a soft _clink_ when Izaya lifts his mug off the coffee table to take another sip. 

“Well, considering you’re now one of the most reputable fortune tellers in Ikebukuro, I already knew that much.” He says, and you stare at him. You think he’s trying to save face after that unbelievable fastball you just threw at him, and you can’t blame him. You don’t think you’d really know how to react to that either.

Izaya reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his wallet. “I think you already knew that much too, considering probably everyone in Ikebukuro has one of these.” He slides out a card, and you take a second to recognize it as one of Chie’s business cards you found in her wallet earlier.

He tosses it onto the table carelessly, and shoves his wallet back into his pocket. “Don’t worry, I believe you,” Izaya sighs. "You’re a terrible actress, after all.” 

Yep, should have seen that coming.

He leans back again, and a smile grows on his face as he turns to look at you. “I suppose I should say, ‘ _welcome back’_?” 

You gulp. You’ve practically just bled your entire hand to Izaya, which you think would widely be considered a poor decision. But might as well start fresh. New year, new you and all that.

“As you’ve already guessed, I can catch you up to date with everything you might need to know about Chie’s situation. And there certainly is a lot to know,” Izaya says, crossing his legs, somehow managing to make the leather couch look remarkably like a throne. If he’s a king, you feel a bit like the court jester.

“But as you’ve probably also guessed…” His smirk grows. “I don’t work for free. So why don’t we discuss some indentured servitude, hm?” 

You don’t think you ever want to hear the words ‘indentured servitude’ come out of Izaya’s mouth ever again. 

He stands from the couch, eyes still on you as he walks behind the couch where you’re seated. “How lucky am I that a fortune teller practically falls into my lap?” 

You think you might know where this is going. He leans over, arms resting on the back of the couch.

“5 credit cards certainly gives me the impression that our Chie-chan isn’t the most financially secure, wouldn’t you say?” The hair on the back of your neck stands up, and you worry for a split second that Izaya will notice now that your hair is short. “So why don’t we make a trade instead? Information for information and all that.” 

Conceptually, it’s not a bad deal. You don’t have to pay a cent, and information is certainly something Chie could provide. But knowing Izaya… 

No deal is a good deal. 

But still…

Without Izaya, you’d probably end up wandering blind trying to figure out what has even happened the past 5 years. You can’t get into your phone, you don’t know where you live, you don’t even know if Chie has any friends. 

You look at Izaya, who has clearly offered this deal knowing you don’t have much of a choice.

“…Fine,” you say, and Izaya’s grin grows. He extends a hand, and you take it.

“It’s a deal.”

—

Izaya is kind enough to enlighten you to the basics of Chie’s situation; he gives you a home address, the location of Chie’s fortune shop, and manages to break into Chie’s phone so you can set your own code. He doesn’t give you much more than the basics for now, simply saying, “You’ll have to earn the rest.” 

He gives you his number, tells you to come back tomorrow because he has lots to do, and practically kicks you out the door. 

You don’t know how you expected that confrontation to go, but the fact that you didn’t end up with another stab wound is a win in your book. 

It appears Shinra was right, and Chie is indeed living in Asakusa these days. A quick search on your phone tells you it’s about a 40 minute train ride from Ikebukuro station, and you descend the escalator underground. 

The fact that the city hasn’t changed a bit since you left is comforting and upsetting at the same time. You suppose Chie never left, but…

Having your daily life and friends pulled out from under you like that is making you feel lost. You can’t help but think about how much easier this whole ordeal would be if you had Shinra and Shizuo by your side the whole time… You’re glad Shinra welcomed you back easily, but you get the impression from Shinra’s story that Chie and Shizuo left things on bad terms. 

You miss him. You guess you never gave him your chocolates.

The last time the two of you really talked was New Years, and that was… you don’t want to remember that. You’ll have to find him, but you won’t even know where to start when you do.

Now that you think about it, you didn’t even get Shinra’s phone number. Maybe you can sneak it from Izaya somehow. Knowing him, he’d probably try to charge you for even that minuscule piece of information. 

Despite your current lack of support system, you can’t say you blame Chie. If you returned to your world and own body to find that you were surrounded by people you had never met before, particularly ones as chaotic as Shinra, Shizuo, and Izaya, you would also get the hell out of there.

You see the train approaching at the end of the tunnel, and you take a step back from the edge of the platform. It’s weird, but you find yourself also missing the Izaya you knew. You suppose you had only been minimally exposed to the one of this time, but there was something missing. Perhaps it was the vulnerability.

You hold down your skirt, and watch your reflection in the windows of the train as it slows to a stop.

_“Doors opening. Step back to allow customers to exit. When boarding, please move to the center of the car.”_

You take a step back as the train doors open, and your breath catches in your throat.

Shizuo steps off the train, and time slows down.

He’s taller and broader than when you saw him last, surely past 6ft at this point. Shizuo’s hair is as blond as ever, hands shoved in the pockets of his iconic bartender uniform as he stalks towards you.

You’re unsure at first because of his tinted sunglasses, but you definitely catch his eyes, and you open your mouth to speak.

What do you say? What _should_ you say?

You feel yourself choke, and before you can say anything, Shizuo is already past you and making his way up the stairs off the platform.

You can only watch after him helplessly with your heart in your throat as the train departs without you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> izaya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g00kEcGh4j8&t


	11. The High Priestess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> many mysteries this chapter 🤔 not much anime boy content but hope you all enjoy nevertheless!
> 
> as always, many thanks for the comments <3

You spend the train ride to Asakusa squeezed into a corner at the end of the car between a man about your age who is seemingly refusing to take off his huge backpack to make any space and a very short old lady.

You think about Shizuo.

Did he not recognize you? 

Had your relationship deteriorated to the point that it was now considered commonplace to pass by each other without so much as an acknowledgement?

You were certain the two of you had made eye contact. There was no way he hadn’t noticed you.

You manage to slightly comfort yourself by imagining he had recognized you, but hadn’t realized it immediately, and by the time he had, he was already ascending the stairs and felt too awkward to look back.

It’s not much, but it’s something.

Asakusa is a bit out of the way from Ikebukuro, so you didn’t really spend any time in the area during high school. 

You become very lost very fast.

After what feels like hours of wandering through narrow residential streets, you’re approaching the front of what you believe is Chie’s shop. 

The front is decorated with a variety of charms, beads, and lanterns, and you can’t help but think it’s a little overkill. The storefront initially appears quite small, but upon further inspection, it looks like the building goes far back.According to google maps, her apartment is above the shop with a side entrance. 

As you get closer, you notice a few people loitering out front who perk up when you approach.

“Otsuka-sama!” You jump back as they begin to crowd you, and you are quickly overwhelmed.

“You’re here!” A young boy grabs at your arm, which you weakly pull away from. A woman who looks a little older than you is quickly in your face, glasses nearly falling off her nose. “Why was the store closed today?!”

“Do you have any updates on our son…?” An older couple is hovering behind the woman and boy, looking far too feeble to be out and about. 

You don’t know how to handle this. Are these people all Chie’s customers?! You suppose Izaya implied that Chie had become a highly reputable fortune teller that almost everybody knew, but you weren’t expecting anything like this. There are even more people behind the four who have crowded around you!

“I— I had family business to attend to!” You manage to choke out, taking a big step back to put some space between you and them. “Come back during business hours tomorrow!”

Before they can respond, you hurry around the side of the store. You hear them call after you, but they luckily do not follow. 

As you round the store, you see a set of stairs that leads up to a small balcony and what looks like an apartment door. So you jog up the steps and start trying all the keys on Chie’s key ring in the door, finding success on the 3rd key. 

You practically burst into the apartment and slam the door behind you, sinking to the floor as you catch your breath.

Wow.

You don’t know how you’re going to handle that. When even are Chie’s business hours? You should probably figure that out.

You don’t know what it is, but finally having a moment of respite has made you realize just how exhausted you are. Your legs feel heavy like lead, and it’s a serious effort to climb back to your feet. 

Information. You should probably take some time to inspect Chie’s phone and apartment to figure out what you’ve missed and get some information. But right now all you can think about is sleeping, and you teeter down the hallway, not even bothering to locate a light. 

That door leads to the bathroom.

Closet.

Another closet.

Bedroom!

You take 4 steps and collapse on Chie’s queen sized bed shoved in the corner of the room, and you’re out like a light.

-

It’s a remarkably dreamless night and you’re up by 6:30 am, feeling like you overslept. Probably because you conked out at like 8. 

Chie’s fridge is barren with the exception of a few vodka-seltzers, milk, and some frozen bananas that look to be very far gone. You pour yourself some cereal and sit down at the small table in the corner of the kitchen.

Chie’s apartment consists of a general kitchen/living/dining room space, then a narrow hallway with a few closets, a bathroom, and a bedroom. The decoration isn’t anything to remark on, lacking personality and looking a little bit like a model house. There’s a substantial amount of furniture that looks like it’s never been touched with a generous layer of dust on top. It certainly raises some questions.

You look at Chie’s business card as you eat your cereal, and you now notice her business hours printed on the back. Monday through Friday, 10am to 6pm. You wonder if the later start time is to allow for max dreaming. 

Even though you now know when her business hours are, that doesn’t really tell you what she does during those hours. You resolve to spend some time inspecting the shop after you get dressed and check out her phone.

As you’re midway through pulling on some tights, you notice a laptop plugged in on Chie’s desk. Thank goodness for technology! You press the pause button on getting dressed and open the laptop, only to find that it’s locked with a password. Figures. 

You shut it with a sigh. Maybe Izaya can get this unlocked too.

After you get dressed, you flop down on the bed and start looking through the phone.

You can tell this phone has been through some shit. The edges are rough, there are more than a few cracks across the screen, and sometimes the home button doesn’t respond without repeated tapping.

Chie doesn’t have many contacts, but it looks like she still keeps in touch with Kanji and the rest of her family. You don’t know where, but it appears Kanji is in college now. The texts are spaced out, and they don’t really provide anything substantial.

A quick scan through Chie’s emails verifies your initial concerns about her financial situation. Chie is receiving balance alert emails almost every day, telling her that her balance is below her threshold at around 200 dollars. 

There are also a bunch of cryptic emails you can’t really figure out. There are a bunch of emails to Chie that just have addresses and times in them, and the email address is different every time. Different number sequences.

After the phone begins to stress you out too much and business hours are fast approaching, you decide to inspect the shop.

In stark contrast to Chie’s apartment, the shop is overdecorated with a variety of charms, dolls, beads, and scrolls. From what you can tell, Chie uses a variety of methods to tell the future. There is a complex looking box filled with many different types of tea leaves, a case of pendulums, and a small pouch containing a bunch of crystals. There are even a few dowsing rods resting on the shelf.

Then it catches your eye. The tarot deck.

You pick it up only to immediately drop it like you’ve been burned. It was like all of the cards began to talk to you at once; the faint buzzing from the death card you felt so long ago feels so quiet now in comparison.

It seems that Chie’s abilities have only increased in the past 5 years.

… If she’s so successful and reputable, why is she barely scraping by financially?

As you bend down to pick up the fallen tarot deck, you notice a black leather beat-up trunk underneath the shelf of Chie’s supplies. 

With a little bit of elbow grease, you manage to pull it out and onto the carpet. It doesn’t match the rest of Chie’s gaudy supplies… It’s old and out of the way, and something tells you that this isn’t typically seen by her customers. 

Upon further inspection, you notice a small copper keyhole on the lid. You stare for a minute before reaching in your pocket for Chie’s keyring, and something tells you that the small rusty copper key is the one you need.

It takes a second to get it open, but the trunk unlocks with a satisfying click. The lid is heavy, and you slowly pull the trunk open, holding your breath in anticipation only to find…

A tree branch?

_…Huh?_

It looks like there are some other items underneath the branch, but you don’t get a chance to find out what they are when a knock on the shop door makes you jump. 

You glance back to see a pair of legs standing outside the door, and a quick look at your phone tells you that it’s already 9:45. You slam the trunk shut and shove it hastily back under the shelf, barely remembering to lock it. You pat yourself down hurriedly and dash to the door, unlocking it and pulling it open.

“Sorry about that—“ you start before the businessman outside shoves past you, and you feel like you’ve been hit with a hurricane.

“What took you so long?” He groans, and sits down at the small floor table in the center of the room. “Come on. The usual.”

This wasn’t going to be an easy day, was it?

—

You lean forward on the table and put your head in your hands. Finally, a moment to breathe.

It seems Chie has a very long waitlist, so the majority of the customers you see that day are regulars. Once you get a slot, you get 3 consultations with Chie during a 1 month period. Since it’s almost the end of October, most of the customers you see are on their last appointment.

Through some… “strategic” questioning, you figure out that the businessman you met in the morning gets a tarot and tea reading. 

He thinks his wife is cheating on him. 

He’s right.

The rest of cases you’ve seen so far are similarly depressing, and you are very glad for the short lunch break you’re taking now.

You’re having another bowl of cereal and sitting at the table when there’s a sharp rap at the door. Don’t people read? There is a pretty big sign on the door right now that says “WILL BE BACK IN 20 MINUTES.”

You opt to ignore it. You can feel them looking through the window at you and you intentionally avoid eye contact.

They knock again, and you take another bite of cereal.

Then the door flies off its hinges, slams to the floor, and you nearly fall out of your chair.

There’s only one person you know of who could send a door flying off its hinges like that. Unless that was just done with a battering ram.

Tom steps through the door, and you practically jump from your seat. 

“Sorry about that…” He says, and actually sounds like he means it.He lifts your door off the carpet and leans it carefully against your wall. “I told him not to, but my friend here can get pretty impatient.”

You continue to stare past him, but there is no sign of Shizuo.

“Don’t worry…” Tom waves a hand and approaches the table, looking at you for permission to sit. You nod, dazed. “I asked him to wait outside. He won’t come in unless I ask.” 

You’re shocked for a few more seconds until the question strikes you. Why are they here?!

Debt?! Chie is struggling, you know that much, but… doesn’t Tom work for a dating website?!

_Is Chie dating someone?!_

“… Are you quite alright?” 

Tom’s concerned voice snaps you out of your reverie, and you fall back into your chair. 

You’re guessing that the whole “I’m not Chie, I’m just in her body” shpeal is not going to fly here.

“Yes, yes… I’m okay.” You reply, and press a hand to your forehead.

Does Shizuo know that he’s at your place?! Does he think you’re addicted to dating websites?!

… You guess you must be if Tom is coming collecting…?!

“… I know the whole… door off the hinges thing is a lot to process. Listen, I’m just here because the card you connected to your LoveLoveDating dot com account keeps being declined and you haven’t responded to any of the company’s attempts to contact you. Usually this happens because you forget about your account or something similar…Which is fine, but you do unfortunately owe about 200,000 yen in fees.” Tom states grimly, hands folded across the table.

…Wait, what the hell is this?! This is highway robbery! Whatever Chie might have done, this has bullshit written all over it. You don’t blame Tom, but this is insane.

Your thoughts must be written all over your face, because Tom keeps talking:

“You can pay it off in fees if you need to… I can offer you several payment plans, provided you change your card information—“ 

“That’s fine. Just give me the one that has the lowest payments.” You say quickly and jump to your feet, hurrying to the door as Tom watches you helplessly.

You step outside, and there he is.

Shizuo is standing at the alley intersection, smoking a cigarette. Close enough in case Tom shouts for him, but far away that he won’t disturb any kind of interaction with his intimidating prescence. 

He really didn’t give you a lot of time to think about what you should say, huh. Shizuo literally and figuratively bust the door down on this one.

Before you can stop yourself, you speak.

“Shizuo!” He looks up, sees that you’re jogging over to him, and he drops his cigarette in shock.

You stare at him and he stares back with a very confused expression.

“It’s Chie…!” You smile up at him and brush some hair behind your ear. “From high school!” You didn’t do this intentionally, but perhaps the ears will jog his memory…?

“… Yeah, I know.” Shizuo responds gruffly, turning away from you to stomp out his cigarette and pull out another one. Your smile falters slightly.

“Um…” You begin, but he cuts you off. 

“So? What do you want?” Shizuo isn’t looking at you now, and he takes a long drag on his cigarette.

“Well…” Where do you begin? You gather yourself. “I was hoping to talk to you about what happened in high school…!”

He doesn’t react, continuing to intently focus on… what looks like the storm drain across the street?

“Could we catch up or something soon…? I know you’re working right now, but I could give you my phone number!” You try again, kind of hoping if you do most of the work in the conversation, he’ll just give in eventually.

“Catch up on what?” Shizuo says ineffectually, blowing out some smoke, and you stiffen. “I thought you told me to never talk to you again.” 

...Your heart falls what must be at least 10 stories. 

You hate this. 

Why should you have to be paralyzed with guilt about something you didn’t even do?

All you can do is stand there, staring at the ground. You feel like an idiot. You don’t know what to say.

He’s so cold; this feels somehow even worse than if he had just been angry at you, or yelled at you, or… It’s like you’re a stranger.

“… Are you the one we’re collecting from?” Shizuo still isn’t looking at you, and your head snaps up to look at him.

“No! I mean, yes, but it’s…” He turns to look at you, and you crumple under his gaze. “It’s complicated…” You say weakly, and Shizuo stares for a moment longer before looking away again with a quiet “hm.”

“I… I really would like to talk to you. I get off work every day at 6— Um, the fortune shop here…” you vaguely point but Shizuo still isn’t looking. “If you…”

“I don’t think so,” Shizuo cuts you off and puts his hands in his pockets. “Sorry.”

You look behind you and see that Tom is now waiting for Shizuo out front of your store. He’s giving you some space, but they clearly have somewhere else to be and soon.

“Okay…” You manage, and Shizuo passes you without a word.

Once again, you’re left speechless as Shizuo walks away.

—

After you finish with the rest of your customers, (who are all very confused at your current lack of front door) you spend the rest of the evening very busy occasionally crying, but mostly staring blankly at your ceiling.

It’s a weird feeling.

It’s not your fault that any of this happened, but…

It still hurts.

Why did any of this happen to you? Why you? Why Chie?

You wish none of this ever happened. But you know you don’t mean it.

At some point during your hysterical evening, Izaya texted you, telling you to come over tomorrow for your first assignment. You guess you’ll have to move some appointments around.

You don’t even want to think about it. You don’t want to think about anything. You turn over and try to fall to sleep.

—

_ You’re at your house.  _

_ Your house, at home, sitting at your dining room table.  _

_ Your family is there, and they’re talking. To each other, and to you.  _

_ Sometimes what they’re saying is muffled, and sometimes you can hear them loud and clear. _

_ But what disturbs you is that you’re talking back.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh oh :(


	12. The Empress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is chaotic as hell and probably has mistakes. please, just take it. i will most likely edit it later

Well, you’ve taken some time to process the whole thing.

By some time, you mean the past 4 hours.

Some serious self searching. Meditation. Journaling. Power-crying. You know the deal.

And after some consideration, the conclusion that you came to was…

Fuck this.

Fuck this, man!

Why should you have to suffer for Chie’s nonsense? Her inability to pay her pills despite apparently making quite the hefty income? 

Why did you even bother meeting with clients yesterday! They’re not yours!

You angrily shove your phone, wallet, tarot deck, and umbrella into your bag before storming out the door like the devil himself was behind you, not even bothering to look at the clients outside the shop as you pass. Miraculously, a simple hoodie does wonders to throw them off, and you get through without much trouble.

You’re off to see Izaya. And if he gives you any trouble, you’re more than willing to give him a piece of your mind and punch him right out of that ridiculous v-neck of his (don’t read too much into that).

The trip to Izaya’s apartment is mostly a blur, and you pretend that you’re not nervous that you’ll potentially run into Shizuo on the Yamanote line. 

-

Izaya raises his eyebrows mildly as you practically slam down the door on your way in. Namie barely lifts her head from the folder she’s inspecting.

“Well, good to know you’re as enthusiastic about today as I am, if not more…” Izaya drawls, standing from his desk and stretching. “Why are you in such a hurry, Chie-chan?”

You don’t respond, tossing your purse carelessly onto the couch, and Izaya shrugs as he makes his way over. 

“This is quite a change from your earlier attitude… Don’t tell me yet another consciousness has taken over?” He plops down on the couch across from your purse, and you throw yourself down next to the purse, crossing your arms, Izaya watching with amusement.

“No, Izaya, another consciousness has not taken over.” You say indignantly. You know you’re being very dramatic, considering Izaya has not (yet) said anything remotely offensive, but the artificial energy is keeping you from having another breakdown like you had last night and you’re going to keep trying to ride the wave.

“Well, if you’re sure…” He slides a folder onto the coffee table, pushing it over to you. “Let’s get down to business, shall we?”

Does he always have to speak in cliches? You lean over and pick up the folder, popping it open.

“You may recall reading my tarot cards?” Izaya says, arms leaning on his legs and watching you read the folder. It doesn’t really mean a whole lot to you upon your initial once-over; it appears to detail some yakuza member named Honda Soichiro. Flipping through, it just looks like the standard yakuza fare: gambling, loan sharking, fraud, intimidation…

“Yeah,” you respond hesitantly, and shut the folder. “You want me to read the cards for Honda?” You must appear quizzical, because Izaya says: “It’s just a test run. I want to see how the new and improved Chie-chan works!” 

You open your mouth to respond, but Izaya keeps talking (figures). 

“Yes, yes, I know, you’re Chie… or not Chie, from 5 years ago. But if I understand correctly, you still possess the same… ‘psychic’,” he does heavy air quotes, “abilities. And you must be pretty adept to have made such a name for yourself.” 

You look at Izaya doubtfully before responding. “I have to say, I find it kind of hard to believe that you wouldn’t have gotten a full grasp on my abilities before hiring me…” 

He shrugs. “Chie is quite the mysterious woman! Many people have tried to figure out her secrets, but it’s hard to get her to slip-up if she already knows what’s coming, wouldn’t you say?” 

“Well…” You slump on the couch, backing off for the time being. “What do you want me to do?”

“He’ll be here in about, say, 5 minutes?” 

You jump in your seat and look at Izaya incredulously.

“Don’t worry!” He waves you off. “We just need to find out if his group is planning on bringing cocaine into the city. And if he is, the Awakasu-kai is going to want nothing to do with them.”

“Wait-“ you sputter. “5 minutes?! Cocaine?! Izaya, this is—“

There’s a buzz from the entrance, and Izaya hops out of his chair. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it! Might go ahead and set that tarot deck up, though.”

You stare after Izaya in shock momentarily as he goes to the door, then start quickly setting up your deck. 

Soichiro is quite the large man, and looks almost like a walking yakuza stereotype with his slicked back hair, zebra patterned shirt, and the large scar splitting his lower lip.

You stand, reach out to shake his hand, and you’ve _just_ finished steeling yourself when Izaya opens his big fat mouth and says: “This is Otsuka Chie. Your family has worked with her before! She works for me now and has a few questions to ask you. Don’t worry, she’s sworn to confidentiality!” 

Your hand is suddenly crushed in Soichiro’s grip and it feels very close to what you’d like to do to Izaya’s skull in the next few minutes. 

“Great. Do your voodoo or whatever,” Soichiro says gruffly, releasing your hand to sit in the couch across from yours, and lighting a cigarette. You hesitate for a moment before meeting his beady eyes and you quickly seat yourself as well. 

Izaya moves behind you, and Namie places two cups of tea down on the coffee table. You feel jealous of Namie in this moment; if only you could be so indifferent to everything around you.

“Believe me,” Izaya drawls. “Chie-chan is the very best.” 

The cards are already whispering, but it seems that they’re talking more to each other than to you. You awkwardly pat down your skirt and push the cards across to him.

“Um… first of all, I need you to shuffle the deck for me.”

Soichiro does as you instruct, and splits the deck and draws three cards without you even having to tell him. You uncertainly glance up at Izaya, who is just lounging on the back of your couch and smiling down at the coffee table.

He flips over the first card.

“Okay, The Empress, reversed…” you begin, and you recall how heavily you relied on the guidebook when you read Izaya’s cards. You also recall how boyish he looked back then.

Ok, focus.

This time, the Empress speaks to you directly, as if whispering in your ear. You peek at Soichiro briefly, instinctually checking if he’s hearing what you’re hearing. He just stares back at you, an indiscernible look in his eyes, and you quickly look back down at the cards.

Well, you’d rather not get stabbed again, but the cards never lie, so you tell him how it is. 

“Have you or your family been in financial trouble recently?” You look up at Soichiro for an answer, but the cigarette is still dangling idly from his mouth and he’s already turning over the next card.

“Uh— I wasn’t- That’s the Hierophant, reversed… so the financial instability lead to a breakdown—“ 

And he’s already turning over the next card, and you now notice that the cigarette is clenched tightly between his teeth. 

You’re about to read the next card when he finally breaks.

“Is this a fucking joke, Orihara?!” He growls, then shoves the coffee table forward as he stands. You recoil and turn your legs to avoid the tea and tarot cards as they careen off the table towards you.

Soichiro storms around the table towards Izaya, and you try to shrink into the couch. Damn, if only you had matched your clothing to the furniture, maybe then he would have thought you were a throw pillow!

Izaya stays put, just smiling sweetly as Soichiro seethes with anger.

“They told me you liked to play games, but I assumed you wouldn’t be this damn patronizing!”

“Well, you know what they say when you assume things…” you stifle a chuckle but Soichiro keeps talking.

“Acting like I don’t know who this bitch is?” He gets closer to Izaya with each word, steam practically coming from his ears. All you can do is watch in confusion. “Bringing _her_ here to tell me? It’s her fault we’re here in the first place!”

What?

You look at Izaya, but his expression remains the same. “I guess it’s true what they say about your temper, Honda-san. This is merely a formality, please, sit—“

Soichiro does not sit, and instead takes another stomp forward, practically toe-to-toe with Izaya at this point.

“No, I won’t sit! I want some fucking answers to my fucking questions! You know why my boss sent me here. Where is the branch?!”

You furrow your eyebrows. The branch?

“Honda-san, there were some conditions when you agreed to this appointment with me,” Izaya responds, cool as a cucumber. “We operate on my terms. We’ll get to the branch eventually, now—“ 

“No!” Izaya looks mildly irritated as Soichiro cuts him off for the 3rd time. 

“No, you know what, why don’t I just have _her_ tell me where the branch is?” Soichiro rounds on you instead, and you stand, figuring you can make a quicker getaway if you’re on two feet. 

“Well, I— we can—“ You struggle to think of what to say. You don’t understand half of what’s going on, but you don’t want the big angry yakuza man to really get any angrier. So he wants to change the method of how he attains his information? 

You peek at Izaya, who is watching idly, mildly entertained as he watches Soichiro quickly spiral out control.

All this talk of cocaine is making you suspect that Soichiro did not come to the appointment entirely sober. 

It’s hard to think of what Izaya would want you to do in this situation. You’re quickly coming to the conclusion that the only reason Izaya brought Soiichiro here was to fuck with you. Clearly Chie has been involved with his family. But now what? 

“We can do a different reading—“ You go to complete your sentence, but stop when Soichiro grabs your wrist. 

“We don’t have to do any damn _reading!”_ He’s practically shouting right in your ear now, and you flinch. “Tell me where you put the fucking branch!”

Oh, so _Chie_ took the branch? 

Wait, why does he care so much about a fucking branch, anyway?! Go outside, idiot! There are plenty out there! Just pull your head out of your ass and look up! 

Your head is spinning. Izaya is smirking, Soichiro is seething, and you’re very confused and angry. 

Izaya has certainly upgraded from his patronizing monologues. Placing you under intense psychological distress is now his game. You think the most distressing thing is that you don’t know what the hell any of this means. 

Your head is suddenly perfectly clear as you watch Soichiro pull a switchblade from his jacket in slow motion, and you begin to frantically struggle to pull free. 

Izaya goes stiff next to you.

It all happens very fast.

Soichiro waves his knife in your direction, presumably just to threaten you. 

You let out a cry and cower, desperately attempting to yank your arm out of his vice-like grip.

The energy from Izaya changes next to you; nearly imperceptible, but you think Chie’s abilities have you more attuned to that type of thing. 

“Stop it.” 

Soichiro’s grip on your wrist loosens, and you wrench it out of his hand. Izaya has his knife pressed to Soichiro’s jugular, so very very close to breaking through the very delicate skin.

Soichiro is frozen, eyes on Izaya. Despite their difference in size, Izaya is clearly commanding the room right now. You take a hesitant step backwards.

“You can’t operate on my terms, you don’t do business with me.” Izaya’s smile is sweet, but his tone is anything but. “Now leave the building before you do something we’ll both regret.”

There’s another very long moment where no one speaks, and Izaya finally releases Soichiro. His face is red, possibly from holding his breath and maybe also from humiliation. He doesn’t look at either of you as he flees the room. 

Izaya sighs like an exasperated parent, before shutting his knife and putting it back in his pocket. All you can do is stare at him, still frozen in shock. 

You open your mouth to speak, but Izaya merely passes you without a word and turns the coffee table right side up. 

“Oh, no. The tea got all over your tarot deck…” He says, tossing them up onto the table.

“Izaya…” You begin.

“Your abilities certainly do work, don’t they? Quite well. That’s exactly what’s going on with his family…” He places the tea cups on the table as well. “Apparently all because of you… what a shock, right?” He doesn’t turn to look at you, but has a mocking lilt to his voice.

“Izaya.” You begin again, firmly this time.

“Namie will have to tidy the rest of this tomorrow. You can clean up in the bathroom down the hall there.” Izaya stands, wiping his hands off. “We’re certainly learning a lot about Chie, aren’t we! How does it make you feel to be saddled with all this terrible responsibility?” He finally turns to look at you, smiling. “She hasn’t been the best person, has she? And you’re in her body…”

“Izaya!” You cut him off, and his smile grows expectantly. 

“Yes?” He responds.

“Thank you,” you say simply, and walk past him towards the bathroom. 

Izaya is momentarily taken aback, and you feel satisfied as you pass him. Sure, he set you up for this situation. But not letting you get stabbed again is certainly a win in your book.

—

When you exit the bathroom, Izaya has his jacket on and is holding your purse. He’d like to ‘pay a little visit’ to your apartment to check on the ‘branch', and it looks like saying no isn’t an option, so you agree under the condition he carries your purse the whole way home.

Before you can leave him with your purse in his hand, Izaya drops it on your feet and is on his way to the elevator. 

“Can’t say I’ve spent a lot of time in Asakusa,” Izaya remarks as the two of you turn down the alley towards Chie’s shop. “Weird little neighborhood.” 

“Well, I haven’t spent a lot of time here either.” You reply, and Izaya smirks. “Guess it makes sense Chie would set up shop here… being so close to the shrine and all.” 

“Yes, it truly is remarkable how willing humanity is to place their fates in the hands of some unseen all knowing being, isn’t it?” Izaya drawls, and you can feel your eyes glazing over. “They place their fates in the hands of this being, then turn around and use him as an excuse to destroy the fates of others.”

“Wow,” you remark sarcastically. “Haven’t updated the edgy topics playbook since high school, huh?”

“Hm?” Izaya’s grin looks a little dangerous, so you decide to back off.

The two of you take another turn, and you notice someone standing out front of Chie’s shop.

“Oh no.” You groan, already grabbing at your hood. “Chie’s clients like to loiter outside the shop after hours… It’s not great. Just pretend you don’t see them.” 

Izaya nods, matching pace with you. “What, you don’t like the attention?

“No! I don’t!” You reply, trying to not look at the guy as the two of you sneak behind him.

Jeez, doesn’t he know he’s not supposed to smoke within 10 feet of a building? Hold on.

You turn to look at him, and oh my god.

“Shizuo!” You yelp, pulling your hood down. Izaya takes a small step back, and Shizuo turns to look at you. 

He initially looks surprised, then maybe even slightly happy, and then it all immediately goes downhill to absolutely enraged as he notices Izaya next to you.

“Now, now, Shizu-chan…” Izaya starts, as if talking to a threatened animal, stepping away from you. “You can’t tell me to get out of Ikebukuro this time, considering we’re all the way in Asakusa…”

“What the fuck are you doing here, you little shit?! And what are you doing with Chie?!” Shizuo roars, fists clenched.

Your neighbors lights turn on. This neighborhood is certainly not used to the chaos Shizuo and Izaya are capable of raining down on their surroundings.

“Guys—“ you begin, but Izaya is already speaking.

“Can’t old classmates meet up once in a while…? Don’t tell me you’ve never met up with your old pal Chie after graduation, Shizu-chan.”

Shizuo takes a step forward, a dangerous grin growing on his face. 

“What the fuck was that…?”

“Guys, stop!” You grab Izaya’s arm, and Shizuo’s eyes fly to where the two of you are touching. “Fight anywhere else, just not here and not now! This is my neighborhood!”

Miraculously, Shizuo goes silent, and you’re very surprised that that was all it took. You know that he certainly hasn’t cooled off in his older age, so what’s that all about?

You let go of Izaya and move towards Shizuo. So he decided to come around after work after all. You don’t know what changed his mind, but you need to take advantage of this moment.

“Shizuo, let’s just go inside, Izaya was just leavi—“

“What are you doing with him?” Shizuo says, eerily calm, and you freeze. Yep, you should have known that was just a brief calm before the storm.

“She works for me now, Shizu-chan.” Izaya calls out from behind you, and you flinch. Why did he have to open his mouth? Why, why, why! That’s 10x worse than Shizuo hearing it from you! 

You look up at Shizuo, who is searching your face for any kind of denial or explanation, but finds nothing. 

He places a gentle hand on your shoulder and softly pushes you to the side.

Then he cracks his knuckles, and rips the Do Not Enter sign out of your street corner. Well, there goes the neighborhood. 

“I was just lamenting that I didn’t get to kick your ass today, you asshole…! Now come here so I can _kill_ you!” Shizuo growlsand charges wildly at Izaya. Izaya merely sidesteps him like a matador and comes to your side. 

“I guess I’ll just come by for our date tomorrow. Have a good night, Chie-chan!” 

Izaya then dashes down the street, and Shizuo doesn’t look at you as he passes you and chases after Izaya.

“Come back here, you fucker!!”

… And, they’re gone.

It’s weird, but you almost kind of missed their fights.

As you walk up towards your apartment, you’re simultaneously happy and sad that Shizuo stopped by tonight. Izaya may have ruined it. But at least there’s a chance.

At least there’s a chance.

There has to be a chance. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also: who should the reader end up with? vote on your phones (in the comments) now


	13. The Emperor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone sorry for so long no update!! election hit and then i got insanely sick (NO COVID DW) but i'm all good now and ready to provide you all with sustenance! 
> 
> ty for all the comments on the last chapter 🥺your lovely support got me through this last month
> 
> it's still pretty neck and neck between shizuo and izaya, looks like. bad news to those who voted for poly but that is not going to happen lol. just not going to work for how this fic is planned but maybe i will write another story with the option in the future!!
> 
> hope you guys enjoy this chapter, im still a little no thoughts head empty

You think you dreamt about Izaya last night. It sure would explain why you woke up feeling like you were about to throw up.

If you learned anything from last week’s confrontation, the branch in the trunk has some kind of significance. You pat yourself on the back for being such an astute detective: it’s not like Soichiro mentioned it 500 times. However, it still begs the question… just _why_ is the branch so important?

You spend some time inspecting the branch after hours. It’s pretty sturdy for a branch, but you treat it delicately nonetheless. You’re no botanist, but after some cursory research and downloading several apps for biologists, you think it’s from a European Larch. That’s great and all, but it doesn’t get you any closer to the importance of the branch.

You do notice that despite how many needles shed from the branch as you handle it, the branch maintains its shape. In fact, it looks to be even fuller when you hold it.

Hm.

Izaya probably knows. But you don’t know how much you like the idea of paying him another visit so soon, considering his idea of a good time seemed to consist of only of inviting over people who wanted to kill you.

That’s fine. You had more important business to take care of first, anyhow.

—

“Thanks for doing this…” You say, arranging your bags from the chocolate shop on the kitchen counter. “Are you sure? Cause I think—“

“Nope!” Shinra cuts you off and leans down on the counter, watching as you fiddle nervously with your items. “I’m glad to do it. It had to happen sooner or later. Plus, it might be fun!”

“For you, maybe…” You sigh, and finally stop messing with the bags, opting to instead rest your chin in your hands. “I just sure hope it all goes according to plan.”

“Come on!” Shinra says indignantly, looking at you in mock dismay. “Don’t you trust me?!”

You decline to answer.

—

“Shizuo-kun! You made it! Come in, come in!”

Shizuo slowly stepped into the apartment, not bothering to put out his cigarette as he slid his shoes off. 

“Yeah, well. You told me it was urgent.” He paused. Shinra seemed more wired than usual, if his wide smile and frequent bopping was any indication. “… This better be good.” Shizuo walked into the apartment. It smelled a little weird, but that was pretty standard for Shinra’s apartment. All kinds of weirdos (including Shinra and… _the flea_ ) were coming in and out of the place pretty often.

“Right, so…” Shinra stepped around Shizuo and made his way over to his file cabinet on the other side of the room. “When I was going over your files from the last check-up—“

“Wasn’t that in high school?” Shizuo cut Shinra off, flopping onto the couch. 

“Yes, yes.” Shinra continued, flipping through his files, apparently not finding what he needed in the first drawer and moving to the next one down. “But I caught something I missed that we really have to check up on again! You see, your eyeballs apparently contained a genome that contained xy properties and have an inordinate amount of galactose and glucose! It could be —“ 

“…My eyeballs?” 

“Yes, it’s absolutely catastrophic! We have to check on it right away!” Shinra finished hurriedly flipping through the final drawer and slammed it shut with a sigh. “Oh, silly me. Must have left your file in the operating room. Brb!” Shizuo could only stare in confusion as Shinra practically flew out of the room. 

“… Brb…” Shizuo muttered. Well, whatever. Tom had given him the afternoon off anyway, so having to take the morning off for a doctor’s visit was almost like having a whole day free. As annoying as Shinra could be, it was pretty convenient to have him around. Unlikely that any other doctor would have any idea what to do with a guy like Shizuo. 

He took a drag from his cigarette then put it out in the ashtray on the coffee table. They kept the place pretty clean, despite being a back-alley doctor’s office and all. Shizuo didn’t want to make a mess. Mostly for Celty’s sake. Even though he was pretty sure Shinra did the housekeeping.

Huh. When did that get there? Shinra didn’t smoke, and Celty certainly didn’t. Well, at least not in the nicotine sense. 

Man, half of the things Shinra said flew right over Shizuo’s head. Galactose? Glucose?

…

Was glucose stored in the eyeballs?

Shizuo wasn’t given much time to ponder this very pressing question as he heard the operating door open.

“Okay…” A voice spoke.

A voice that was definitely not Shinra’s. 

A voice that Shizuo had grown to dread.

“Please just hear me out.”

Chie’s voice.

—

You practically dive across the room to the front door, putting your body between Shizuo and the entrance. “Please!” 

Yeah, so maybe Chie’s body would do next to nothing to prevent Shizuo from trying to leave. But you highly doubted that Shizuo would ever lay a hand on you.

“This just fuckin’ figures…” Shizuo growls, clenching his fists. “You—“

“No!” You cry out. You feel kind of pathetic, considering you’re basically groveling before Shizuo at this point, but you know what? You’ve had just about enough of this nonsense. Why won’t he just listen!? What on earth did Chie do?

“I…” You struggle for words, searching for anything to just get him to _stay_. “Don’t leave. I have to talk to you! And… And that’s why you came to my store, right? You want to know what I have to say!”

Shizuo stares down at you with an indiscernible look in his eyes. The look in his eyes takes you back to five years ago, on new years. When Shizuo came to your house and you pushed him away. And now you’re begging him to stay. 

“… You put Shinra up to this?” He mutters. 

You flinch.

“This something the _flea_ asked you to do?” Shizuo growls and you jump to answer. 

“No! No, this is just me! Shizuo, I—“ You panic. This is not working. Izaya coming into the picture was absolutely the last thing you needed in any type of confrontation with Shizuo. 

Before you can finish your sentence, two strong hands grab you by the waist and gently lift youinto the air like you’re made of feathers. You gasp, narrowly avoiding letting out any embarrassing noises as Shizuo places you down to side.

Wait, hold on, no!

Shizuo is slipping on his shoes now, and you’re running out of time. 

You feel like you’re in a dream again. Everything around you is real and seems so tangible, but you are ineffectual to your environment. Try as you might to scream or run, you can only whisper or crawl. And Shizuo is disappearing.

“Shizuo…” You whimper, and without you even realizing it, you’re crying. “Shizuo! Just, listen to me! I…”

Shizuo isn’t facing you, but he must hear the crying in your voice, because he stops in his tracks. 

You take a deep inhale and clench your eyes shut. You sound like you’re ugly crying, but you luckily don’t have a mirror to look into. 

“I remember everything from five years ago! But I don’t know what happened the past five years! Whatever happened, that _wasn’t me!_ I know you’re going to think I sound crazy, but the last thing I remember is passing out in that place in Shinjuku or Shibuya or wherever!! And I…”

You take another deep inhale. Shizuo has turned around to face you with an expression of pure befuddlement. 

“… I miss you, you dumbass!!” You use the last of your energy to fling your box of chocolates at him as hard as you can. 

They hit his chest and lamely fall to the floor with a small clatter. 

The room is silent with the exception of your shaky breathing and occasional sniffle. You stare at Shizuo’s shoes. 

After a moment, they come closer. But he’s still silent.

You peek up at him to see him looking down at you, and you sniffle. Shizuo is carefully trying to remain neutral, but his eyes betray him. He’s always been weak to your tears.

“… I don’t get it.” he says. “I don’t know what any of what you just said means.” 

“It’s… kind of complicated,” you say, wiping a tear from your eye and taking a shaky breath as you try to pull yourself together. “You could describe it as a really weird form of amnesia, but there’s more to it that I can explain—“

“You don’t remember any of the past five years.” Shizuo states, searching your face for affirmation, and you nod.

“I passed out after everything with Nara, then I woke up in Shinra’s sink 2 weeks ago. And Shizuo, I…” It all comes pouring out as you stare into his eyes. 

“I’ve been thinking about everything I said to you on New Years, and I… I wanted to give you chocolates as an apology, so that’s why I threw them at you just now, sorry,” you ramble. “I really really don’t know what happened, but I miss you so much, and it’s basically only been two months for me since we’ve been friends, so I know that’s incomparable to the past five years for you, but, I—“ 

“Shut up.” 

You do not.

“See, the truth is, this is really similar to when I fell through the ceiling at the entrance ceremony in high school, because I don’t know anything from before then, either. It’s going to sound crazy, but I’m from another world, and you remember the visions, right?” Your voice is getting higher and higher, and you’re wishing more and more that you listened to Shizuo.

“Shut up!” Shizuo barks, roughly (yet delicately) grabbing you by the arms, and you quiet down. “You need to slow down. You—“ He grits his teeth in frustration. “You don’t remember the past five years. And…”

He looks down at the chocolates on the floor, and his hold on you softens.

“The chocolates are an apology.”

You nod.

Shizuo stares at you a moment longer, and sighs, averting his eyes. You almost think he’s going to try to leave again (and you don’t think you could stop him this time) after he takes a good minute to open his mouth again.

“… I got you chocolates, too.” He places a hand on the back of his neck, still looking anywhere but you. “Back then.”

You gasp, and you can’t help the smile that works it’s way onto your face and the happy tears that threaten to spill. 

“… I know. I saw you with Kasuka on Valentine’s,” you say, and Shizuo frowns, his nose wrinkling. 

“…Whatever.” He mumbles, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking down at you, bashful. 

There’s still a lot unsaid.

But this certainly seemed like progress. 

Your smile grows, and you feel some more tears trickle down your face. 

The brief moment of respite gives you enough time to realize just how dramatic you acted in the past 10 minutes, and you turn bright red. 

“Agh!” You exclaim, moving to cover your face and wipe your tears away. “Just look at me— sorry, I’m…” You must look a mess right now— red eyes, sniffly nose… it’s a miracle Shizuo didn’t leave just because of how terrifying your appearance is. 

Shizuo grunts, and pulls something out of his pocket. You peek from behind your frantically wiping hands to see he’s handing you a handkerchief. Wow, you didn’t take him for the type.

You gratefully accept it, and start dabbing at your face while avoiding Shizuo’s gaze. It’s certainly still more than a little awkward. But you’ll take almost anything over how it was the past two weeks. 

Past five years, even.

At that thought, more tears come, and you can’t help but laugh at how sappy you’re being. “S-sorry! I just can’t seem to stop crying…”

You move to wipe your cheek, but another, much rougher hand makes it there first. 

“…Don’t apologize,” Shizuo says quietly as he wipes your tears away with his thumb, and you wonder if he can feel your skin heat under his touch. You gulp, and you can’t seem to meet his eyes. 

“…Ok.” You manage, and slowly look up: from his impeccably clean vest, his broad shoulders, his firm but slightly trembling lips, to his gentle but quietly frightened eyes. 

You lift your hand and place it over the one on your face, and everything seems so far away. All you can think about now is how you really hope your hands aren’t sweaty. 

All Shizuo can think about is how soft your hand is.

You close your eyes and hold your breath.

Then the door opens, and you're stumbling backwards, catching yourself on the couch, and watching Shizuo punch a large potted plant.

“Ok, I don’t hear any more yelling, so I assume you guys made up!!” Shinra sings, wandering into the living room. “I’m back! Great news Shizuo, your eyes are NOT in fact made of lactose—“ He stops in horror. “SHIZUO, _NO!_ MY PHILODENDRON!!”

You quickly gather yourself, wiping the rest of your tears away and fixing your hair as you back a little further away and watch Shinra lament his plant. 

“Celty gave that to me as a gift for my half-birthday…!” Shinra wails, falling to his knees before the mound of soil and shattered ceramic. 

Shizuo grunts, adjusting his glasses far more times than necessary and wiping some of the soil from his knuckles with his other hand. 

You’re getting some serious deja vu. 

“Uh, Shizuo…” you begin nervously, and Shizuo freezes like a deer in headlights. “… Shinra and I were talking about getting some sushi. Do you want to join us?” 

Regardless of… whatever just happened, you still feel like Shizuo might dart from the room at any moment like a skittish cat. But you want to extend this offer. And you need something to say very desperately, so this also works.

It’s silent for a moment with the exception of Shinra’s wailing and brush and dustpan-ing.

“Ok.”Shizuo says. You don’t think the two of you are going to get a proper “hashing out” session, knowing Shizuo. But this is a start, you think, and you smile.

As the three of you make your way out of the apartment, you can’t help but think the three of you are quite an odd clique, and so does the rest of Ikebukuro. The strongest man in Ikebukuro, a freaky lovesick back-alley doctor, and the fortune teller from Asakusa. But if you think about it, you guess it makes sense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shinra: bad news shizuo looks like your pee is stored in the balls. we have to do emergency surgery  
> shizuo: pee is not supposed to be in the balls?


End file.
